TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS (2011)
PART II READING COMPREHENSION
TEXT A
Whenever we could, Joan and I took refuge in the streets of Gibraltar. The Englishman's home is his castle because he has not much choice. There is nowhere to sit in the streets of England, not even, after twilight, in the public gardens. The climate, very often, does not even permit him to walk outside. Naturally, he stays indoors and creates a cocoon of comfort. That was the way we lived in Leeds.
These southern people, on the other hand, look outwards. The Gibraltarian home is, typically, a small and crowded apartment up several flights of dark and dirty stairs. In it, one, two or even three old people share a few ill-lit rooms with the young family. Once he has eaten, changed his clothes, embraced his wife, kissed his children and his parents, there is nothing to keep the southern man at home. He hurries out, taking even his breakfast coffee at his local bar. He comes home late for his afternoon meal after an appetitive hour at his café. He sleeps for an hour, dresses, goes out again and stays out until late at night. His wife does not miss him, for she is out, too — at the market in the morning and in the afternoon sitting with other mothers, baby-minding in the sun.
The usual Gibraltarian home has no sitting-room, living-room or lounge. The parlour of our working-class houses would be an intolerable waste of space. Easy-chairs, sofas and such-like furniture are unknown. There are no bookshelves, because there are no books. Talking and drinking, as well as eating, are done on hard chairs round the dining-table, between a sideboard decorated with the best glasses and an inevitable display cabinet full of family treasures, photographs and souvenirs. The elaborate chandelier over this table proclaims it as the hub of the household and of the family. "Hearth and home" makes very little sense in Gibraltar. One's home is one's town or village, and one's hearth is the sunshine.
Our northern towns are dormitories with cubicles, by comparison. When we congregate — in the churches it used to be, now in the cinema, say, impersonally, or at public meetings, formally — we are scarcely ever man to man. Only in our pubs can you find the truly gregarious and communal spirit surviving, and in England even the pubs are divided along class lines.
Along this Mediterranean coast, home is only a refuge and a retreat. The people live together in the open air — in the street, market-place. Down here, there is a far stronger feeling of community than we had ever known. In crowded and circumscribed Gibraltar, with its complicated inter-marriages, its identity of interests, its surviving sense of siege, one can see and feel an integrated society.
To live in a tiny town with all the organization of a state, with Viceroy (总督), Premier, Parliament, Press and Pentagon, all in miniature, all within arm's reach, is an intensive course in civics. In such an environment, nothing can be hidden, for better or for worse. One's successes are seen and recognized; one's failures are immediately exposed. Social consciousness is at its strongest, with the result that there is a constant and firm pressure towards good social behaviour, towards courtesy and kindness. Gibraltar, with all its faults, is the friendliest and most tolerant of places. Straight from the cynical anonymity of a big city, we luxuriated in its happy personalism. We look back on it, like all its exiled sons and daughters, with true affection.
11. Which of the following best explains the differences in ways of living between the English and the Gibraltarians?
A. The family structure.
B. Religious belief.
C. The climate.
D. Eating habit.
12. The italicized part in the third paragraph implies that ____________.
A. English working-class homes are similar to Gibraltarian ones
B. English working-class homes have spacious sitting-rooms
C. English working-class homes waste a lot of space
D. the English working-class parlour is intolerable in Gibraltar
13. We learn from the description of the Gibraltarian home that it is _________.
A. modern
B. luxurious
C. stark
D. simple
14. There is a much stronger sense of _______ among the Gibraltarians.
A. togetherness
B. survival
C. identity
D. leisure
15. According to the passage people in Gibraltar tend to be well-behaved because of the following EXCEPT _______.
A. the entirety of the state structure
B. constant pressure from the state
C. the small size of the town
D. transparency of occurrences
TEXT B
For office innovators, the unrealized dream of the "paperless" office is a classic example of high-tech hubris (傲慢). Today's office drone is drowning in more paper than ever before.
But after decades of hype, American offices may finally be losing their paper obsession. The demand for paper used to outstrip the growth of the US economy, but the past two or three years have seen a marked slowdown in sales —despite a healthy economic scene.
Analysts attribute the decline to such factors as advances in digital databases and communication systems. Escaping our craving for paper, however, will be anything but an easy affair.
"Old habits are hard to break," says Merilyn Dunn, a communications supplies director. "There are some functions that paper serves where a screen display doesn't work. Those functions are both its strength and its weakness."
In the early to mid-1990s, a booming economy and improved desktop printers helped boost paper sales by 6 to 7 percent each year. The convenience of desktop printing allowed office workers to indulge in printing anything and everything at very little effort or cost.
But now, the growth rate of paper sales in the United States is flattening by about half a percent each year. Between 2004 and 2005, Ms. Dunn says, plain white office paper will see less than a 4 percent growth rate, despite the strong overall economy. A primary reason for the change, says Dunn, is that for the first time ever, some 47 percent of the workforce entered the job market after computers had already been introduced to offices.
"We're finally seeing a reduction in the amount of paper being used per worker in the workplace," says John Maine, vice president of a pulp and paper economic consulting firm. "More information is being transmitted electronically, and more and more people are comfortable with the information residing only in electronic form without printing multiple backups."
In addition, Mr. Maine points to the lackluster employment market for white-collar workers — the primary driver of office paper consumption for the shift in paper usage.
The real paradigm shift may be in the way paper is used. Since the advent of advanced and reliable office-network systems, data storage has moved away from paper archives. The secretarial art of "filing" is disappearing from job descriptions. Much of today's data may never leave its original digital format.
The changing attitudes toward paper have finally caught the attention of paper companies, says Richard Harper, a researcher at Microsoft. "All of a sudden, the paper industry has started thinking, 'We need to learn more about the behavioural aspects of paper use,'" he says. "They had never asked, they'd just assumed that 70 million sheets would be bought per year as a literal function of economic growth."
To reduce paper use, some companies are working to combine digital and paper capabilities. For example, Xerox Corp. is developing electronic paper: thin digital displays that respond to a stylus, like a pen on paper. Notations can be erased or saved digitally.
Another idea, intelligent paper, comes from Anoto Group. It would allow notations made with a stylus on a page printed with a special magnetic ink to simultaneously appear on a computer screen.
Even with such technological advances, the improved capabilities of digital storage continue to act against "paperlessness," argues Paul Saffo, a technology forecaster. In his prophetic and metaphorical 1989 essay, "The Electronic Pi?ata (彩罐)," he suggests that the increasing amounts of electronic data necessarily require more paper.
The information industry today is like a huge electronic pi?ata, composed of a thin paper crust surrounding an electronic core," Mr. Saffo wrote. The growing paper crust "is most noticeable, but the hidden electronic core that produces the crust is far larger — and growing more rapidly. The result is that we are becoming paperless, but we hardly notice at all."
In the same way that digital innovations have increased paper consumption, Saffo says, so has video conferencing — with its promise of fewer in-person meetings — boosting business travel.
"That's one of the great ironies of the information age," Saffo says. "It's just common sense that the more you talk to someone by phone or computer, it inevitably leads to a face-to-face meeting. The best thing for the aviation industry was the Internet."
16. What function does the second sentence in the first paragraph serve?
A. It further explains high-tech hubris.
B. It confirms the effect of high-tech hubris.
C. It offers a cause for high-tech hubris.
D. It offers a contrast to high-tech hubris.
17. Which of the following is NOT a reason for the slowdown in paper sales?
A. Workforce with better computer skills.
B. Slow growth of the US economy.
C. Changing patterns in paper use.
D. Changing employment trends.
18. The two innovations by Xerox Corp. and Anoto Group feature ________.
A. integrated use of paper and digital form
B. a shift from paper to digital form
C. the use of computer screen
D. a new style of writing
19. What does the author mean by ''irony of the information age"?
A. The dream of the "paperless" office will be realized.
B. People usually prefer to have face-to-face meetings.
C. More digital data use leads to greater paper use.
D. Some people are opposed to video-conferencing.
20. What is the author's attitude towards "paperlessness"?
A. He reviews the situation from different perspectives.
B. He agrees with some of the people quoted in the passage.
C. He has a preference for digital innovations.
D. He thinks airlines benefit most from the digital age.
TEXT C
When George Orwell wrote in 1941 that England was "the most class-ridden country under the sun", he was only partly right. Societies have always had their hierarchies, with some group perched at the top. In the Indian state of Bihar the Ranveer Sena, an upper-caste private army, even killed to stay there.
By that measure class in Britain hardly seems entrenched (根深蒂固的). But in another way Orwell was right, and continues to be. As a new YouGov poll shows, Britons are surprisingly alert to class — both their own and that of others. And they still think class is sticky. According to the poll, 48% of people aged 30 or over say they expect to end up better off than their parents. But only 28% expect to end up in a different class. More than two-thirds think neither they nor their children will leave the class they were born into.
What does this thing that people cannot escape consist of these days? And what do people look at when decoding which class someone belongs to? The most useful identifying markers, according to the poll, are occupation, address, accent and income, in that order. The fact that income comes fourth is revealing: though some of the habits and attitudes that class used to define are more widely spread than they were, class still indicates something less blunt than mere wealth.
Occupation is the most trusted guide to class, but changes in the labour market have made that harder to read than when Orwell was writing. Manual workers have shrunk along with farming and heavy industry as a proportion of the workforce, while the number of people in white-collar jobs has surged. Despite this striking change, when they were asked to place themselves in a class, Brits in 2006 huddled in much the same categories as they did when they were asked in 1949. So, jobs, which were once a fairly reliable guide to class, have become misleading.
A survey conducted earlier this year by Expertian shows how this convergence on similar types of work has blurred class boundaries. Expertian asked people in a number of different jobs to place themselves in the working class or the middle class. Secretaries, waiters and journalists were significantly more likely to think themselves middle-class than accountants, computer programmers or civil servants. Many new white-collar jobs offer no more autonomy or better prospects than old blue-collar ones. Yet despite the muddle over what the markers of class are these days, 71% of those polled by YouGov still said they found it very or fairly easy to figure out which class others belong to.
In addition to changes in the labour market, two other things have smudged the borders on the class map. First, since 1945 Britain has received large numbers of immigrants who do not fit easily into existing notions of class and may have their own pyramids to scramble up. The flow of new arrivals has increased since the late 1990s, multiplying this effect.
Second, barriers to fame have been lowered. Britain's fast-growing ranks of celebrities — like David Beckham and his wife Victoria — form a kind of parallel aristocracy open to talent, or at least to those who are uninhibited enough to meet the requests of television producers. This too has made definitions more complicated.
But many Brits, given the choice, still prefer to identify with the class they were born into rather than that which their jobs or income would suggest. This often entails pretending to be more humble than is actually the case: 22% of white-collar workers told YouGov that they consider themselves working class. Likewise, the Expertian survey found that one in ten adults who call themselves working class are among the richest asset-owners, and that over half a million households which earn more than $191,000 a year say they are working class. Pretending to be grander than income and occupation suggest is rarer, though it happens too.
If class no longer describes a clear social, economic or even political status, is it worth paying any attention to? Possibly, yes. It is still in most cases closely correlated with educational attainment and career expectations.
21. Why does the author say "...Orwell was right, and continues to be" (Paragraph Two)?
A. Because there was stronger class consciousness in India.
B. Because more people hope to end up in a higher class.
C. Because people expect to gain more wealth than their parents.
D. Because Britons are still conscious of their class status.
22. ''...class still indicates something less blunt than mere wealth" (Paragraph Three) means that ________.
A. class is still defined by its own habits and attitudes
B. class would refer to something more subtle than money
C. people from different classes may have the same habits or attitudes
D. income is unimportant in determining which class one belongs to
23. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?
A. White-collar workers would place themselves in a different class.
B. People with different jobs may place themselves in the same class.
C. Occupation and class are no longer related with each other.
D. Changes in the workforce have made it difficult to define class.
24. Which of the following is NOT a cause to blur class distinction?
A. Notions of class by immigrants.
B. Changing trends of employment.
C. Easy access to fame.
D. Fewer types of work.
25. When some successful white-collar workers choose to stay in the working class, it implies that they are _________.
A. showing modesty
B. showing self-respect
C. expressing boastfulness
D. making an understatement
TEXT D
The train was whirling onward with such dignity of motion that a glance from the window seemed simply to prove that plains of Texas were pouring eastward. Vast flats of green grass, dull-hued spaces of mesquite and cactus, little groups of frame houses, woods of light and tender trees, all were sweeping into the east, sweeping over the horizon, a precipice.
A newly married pair had boarded this coach at San Antonio. The man's face was reddened from many days in the wind and sun, and a direct result of his new black clothes was that his brick-coloured hands were constantly performing in a most conscious fashion. From time to time he looked down respectfully at his attire. He sat with a hand on each knee, like a man waiting in a barber's shop. The glances he devoted to other passengers were furtive and shy.
The bride was not pretty, nor was she very young. She wore a dress of blue cashmere, with small reservations of velvet here and there, and with steel buttons abounding. She continually twisted her head to regard her puff sleeves, very stiff, and high. They embarrassed her. It was quite apparent that she had cooked, and that she expected to cook, dutifully. The blushes caused by the careless scrutiny of some passengers as she had entered the car were strange to see upon this plain, under-class countenance, which was drawn in placid, almost emotionless lines.
They were evidently very happy. "Ever been in a parlor-car before?" he asked, smiling with delight.
"No," she answered; "I never was. It's fine, ain't it?"
"Great! And then after a while we'll go forward to the dinner, and get a big lay-out. Fresh meal in the world. Charge a dollar."
"Oh, do they?" cried the bride. "Charge a dollar? Why, that's too much — for us — ain't it, Jack?"
"Nor this trip, anyhow," he answered bravely. "We're going to go the whole thing."
Later he explained to her about the trains. "You see, it's a thousand miles from one end of Texas to the other; and this runs right across it, and never stops but four times.” He had the pride of an owner. He pointed out to her the d azzling fittings of the coach; and in truth her eyes opened wider and she contemplated the sea-green figured velvet, the shining brass, silver, and glass, the wood that gleamed as darkly brilliant as the surface of a pool of oil. At one end a bronze figure sturdily held a support for a separated chamber, and at convenient places on the ceiling were frescos in olive and silver.
To the minds of the pair, their surroundings reflected the glory of their marriage that morning in San Antonio; this was the environment of their new estate; and the man's face in particular beamed with an elation that made him appear ridiculous to the Negro porter. This individual at times surveyed them from afar with an amused and superior grin. On other occasions he bullied them with skill in ways that did not make it exactly plain to them that they were being bullied. He subtly used all the manners of the most unconquerable kind of snobbery. He oppressed them. But of this oppression
they had small knowledge, and they speedily forgot that infrequently a number of travelers covered them with stares of derisive enjoyment. Historically there was supposed to be something infinitely humorous in their situation.
"We are due in Yellow Sky at 3:42," he said, looking tenderly into her eyes.
"Oh, are we?" she said, as if she had not been aware of it. To evince (表现出) surprise at her husband's statement was part of her wifely amiability. She took from a pocket a little silver watch; and as she held it before her, and stared at it with a frown of attention, the new husband's face shone.
"I bought it in San Anton' from a friend of mine," he told her gleefully.
"It's seventeen minutes past twelve," she said, looking up at him with a kind of shy and clumsy coquetry (调情；卖俏). A passenger, noting this play, grew excessively sardonic, and winked at himself in one of the numerous mirrors.
At last they went to the dining-car. Two rows of Negro waiters, in glowing white suits, surveyed their entrance with the interest, and also the equanimity (平静), of men who had been forewarned. The pair fell to the lot of a waiter who happened to feel pleasure in steering them through their meal. He viewed them with the manner of a fatherly pilot, his countenance radiant with benevolence. The patronage, entwined with the ordinary deference, was not plain to them. And yet, as they returned to their coach, they showed in their faces a sense of escape.
26. The description of the couple's clothes and behaviour at the beginning of the passage seems to indicate that they had
a sense of __________.
A. secrecy
B. elation
C. superiority
D. awkwardness
27. Which of the following adjectives best depicts the interior of the coach?
A. Modern.
B. Luxurious.
C. Practical.
D. Complex.
28. Which of the following best describes the attitude of other people on the train towards the couple?
A. They regarded the couple as an object of fun.
B. They expressed indifference towards the couple.
C. They were very curious about the couple.
D. They showed friendliness towards the couple.
29. Which of the following contains a metaphor?
A. ... like a man waiting in a barber's shop.
B. ... his countenance radiant with benevolence.
C. ... sweeping over the horizon, a precipice.
D. ... as darkly brilliant as the surface of a pool of oil.
30. We can infer from the last paragraph that in the dining-car ________.
A. the waiters were snobbish
B. the couple felt ill at ease
C. the service was satisfactory
D. the couple enjoyed their dinner
PART IV PROOFREADING & ERROR CORRECTION
From a very early age, perhaps the age of five or six, I knew that when I grew up I should be a writer. Bet ween the ages of about seventeen and twenty-four I tried to abandon this idea, but I did so with the consciou sness that I was outraging my true nature and that sooner or later I should have to settle down and write bo oks.
I was the middle child of three, but there was a gap of five years on either side, and I barely saw my father before I was eight. For this and other reasons I was somewhat lonely, and I soon developed disagreeab le mannerisms which made me unpopular throughout my schooldays. I had the lonely child's habit of making up stories and holding conversations with imaginary persons, and I think from the very start my literary ambi tions were mixed up with the feeling of being isolated and undervalued. I knew that I had a facility with wor ds and a power of facing unpleasant facts, and I felt that this created a sort of private world in which I coul d get my own back for my failure in everyday life. Nevertheless the volume of serious —i.e. seriously inten ded —writing which I produced all through my childhood and boyhood would not amount to half a dozen pa ges. I wrote my first poem at the age of four or five, my mother taking it down to dictation.
(1) grew ∧up —加入up。up。grow作“成长”解时，是不及物动词，与副词up搭配。
(2) conscience —改成consciousness。根据原文，此处表达的意思应该是“但我这样做的同时，却清楚地知道我在背叛自己的天性”，conscience意为“良心”，不符合句意。
(3) soon —改成sooner。sooner or later是固定搭配，意为“迟早”。
(4) on —删去on后的the。on either side表示“在两边”，前面不应再用定冠词the。(5) disagreeing —改成disagreeable。此处表达的意思应为“我很快养成了乖戾的习性，使我在学生时代很不受欢迎”，disagreeable意为“不友善的、难相处的”。
(6) imaginative —改成imaginary。imaginative意为“有想像力的”，imaginary意为“想像的、虚构的”，此处意思应为“我养成了孤独的孩子们带有的编造故事的习惯，并与想像中的人说话”，因此改为imaginary。
(7) literal —改成literary。此处的意思应为“文学抱负”，所以应将literal（文字的）改为literary（文学的）。
(8) in —删去in。face表示“面对”，可直接跟宾语，应去掉介词in。
(9) world ∧in —加入in。这里由which引导的定语从句修饰world，介词in不能省略。
(10) Therefore —改成Nevertheless。从上下文的含义来看，应用表达转折的连词nevertheless。
PART V TRANSLATIONSECTION
A CHINESE TO ENGLISH
Translate the underlined part of the following text into English. Write your translation on ANSWER SHEET THREE.
现代社会无论价值观的持有还是生活方式的选择都充满了矛盾。而最让现代人感到尴尬的是，面对重重矛盾，许多时候你却别无选择。匆忙与休闲是截然不同的两种生活方式。但在现实生活中，人们却在这两种生活方式间频繁穿梭，有时也说不清自己到底是“休闲着”还是“匆忙着”。譬如说，当我们正在旅游胜地享受假期，却忽然接到老板的电话，告诉我们客户或工作方面出了麻烦——现代便捷先进工具在此刻显示出了它狰狞、阴郁的面容——搞得人一下子兴趣全无，接下来的休闲只是徒有其表，因为心里已是火烧火燎了。
参考答案：
Being in haste and at leisure are two distinct lifestyles. But in real life, people have to shuttle between these two lifestyles frequently, without knowing whether they are "at leisure" or "in haste". For instance, when we are enjoying our holidays in a tourist attraction, a phone call from the boss tells us contingencies have happened with our clients or work. The hideous and gloomy side of the convenient modern high-tech device drives away all the interest. The following leisure time can only be reduced to the pure form, because we are already in a restless and anxious state of mind.
SECTION B ENGLISH TO CHINESE
Translate the following text into Chinese. Write your translation on ANSWER SHEET THREE.
When flying over Nepal, it's easy to soar in your imagination and pretend you're tiny —a butterfly —and drifting above one of those three-dimensional topographical maps architects use, the circling contour lines replaced by the terraced rice paddies that surround each high ridge.
Nepal is a small country, and from the windows of our plane floating eastward at 12,000 feet, one can see clearly the brilliant white mirage of the high Himalayas thirty miles off the left window.
Out the right window, the view is of three or four high terraced ridges giving sudden way to the plains of India beyond.
There were few roads visible below, most transportation in Nepal being by foot along ancient trails that connect and bind the country together. There is also a network of dirt airstrips, which was fortunate for me, as I had no time for the two-and-a-half week trek to my destination. I was on a flight to the local airport.
参考答案：
在尼泊尔上空飞行，你的想象力很容易开始翱翔，仿佛你很渺小——就像一只小蝴蝶——飞在一幅三维的建筑地形图上，那些环绕着每个高脊的梯田就像图中环形的等高线。
尼泊尔是一个小国。我们的飞机在一万两千英尺的高空向东平稳飞行，透过左侧的窗户，可以清楚看见下方三十英里处雄伟的喜马拉雅山呈现出的白色蜃景。
转向右侧的窗口，看到的是三、四座高高的布有梯田的山脊，很快它们就被印度境内的广阔平原所代替了。
飞机下方只能看见极少的几条路。在尼泊尔，最主要的出行方式是沿着古老的小路步行，这些小路联系着全国各地。除此以外，这个国家还有一个空中网络，虽然机场尘土飞扬，但对我来说，也算是幸运，因为我没时间进行两个半星期的徒步旅行到达目的地。我当时是在去当地机场的航班上。
PART VI WRITING
According to a recent newspaper report, many famous sites of historical interest in China have begun or are considering charging tourists higher entry fees during peak travel seasons. This has aroused a lot of public attention and also public debate. What is your opinion? Should famous Chinese sites of historical interest charge higher fees during peak travel seasons? Write an essay of about 400 words.
In the first part of your essay you should state clearly your main argument, and in the second part you should support your argument with appropriate details. In the last part you should bring what you have written to a natural conclusion or make a summary.
You should supply an appropriate title for your essay.
Marks will be awarded for content, organization language and appropriateness. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.
参考答案：
Higher Entry Fees During Peak Travel Season
In recent years, people in China have more time and money to visit famous sites of historical interest, owing to longer holidays and higher incomes. These visits, on the one hand, can enrich their own life and bring the sites substantial incomes. On the other hand, too many visits, especially during travel peaks when there are more visitors, have caused huge problems in several aspects. In my opinion, one effective solution to this problem is to charge higher fees during peak travel seasons.
For one reason, those who oppose higher fees have ignored the unique features of famous sites of historical interest. Different from the common parks, the historical spots normally imply ample historical and cultural values. The relics in these spots are so precious and fragile that they usually need special and professional preservation and administration, which obviously costs large amounts of money. During peak travel seasons, even more tourists pay visits to the historical spots. Such huge amount of people arriving at one historical spot may probably lead to some unexpected damages. Facing this situation, there is no better measure than raising the entry fees to reduce the number of tourists in peak seasons. The only purpose of charging higher entry fees is to stop some people's visits during special seasons so as to achieve a better protection of the valuable relics. With higher entry fees, some people may change their plans and give up their visits. Here economic means are applied to conserve precious things at the sites of historical interest in an appropriate and sustainable way.
For another reason, higher fees charged may effectively reduce the number of tourists visiting historical spots in peak seasons, which is also good to the safety of the tourists. Reports on the accidents happening to tourists are not new to us. Especially during peak seasons, heavy traffic of passengers poses potential threats to the life of tourists. Furthermore, relaxation is always an ultimate goal for tourists. It is almost impossible for anyone to appreciate anything in an overcrowded spot with a sea of people around. An ideal holiday may even be ruined by the hustle and bustle and endless waiting.
In short, we need to control the number of visitors especially during the peak travel seasons, to guarantee a sound protection of historical spots as well as the safety of tourists. Among others, higher entry fees may be a simple and effective economic means of regulation, which should be taken into account by the authorities. As for the tourists, this may not be so bad as it sounds.
参考答案：
11、选A。文章对英国人和直布罗陀的居民的不同生活方式进行描写，对比了两种迥异的社会习俗和社会结构。
12、选C。斜体字部分的含义是“英国工人阶级的会客厅对直布罗陀的居民来说是一种不能容忍的对空间的浪费”。
13、选D。文章提到直布罗陀的居民家里没有安乐椅、沙发、书柜等类似的家具，因此很简朴。
14、选A。文章好几处的用词如congregate、gregarious、communal spirit等都体现了直布罗陀人彼此之间较亲密。
15、选B。A、C、D在文章中均有提及，只有B错误，直布罗陀只是一个小城镇，不是一个state。
16、选B。文章第一句话“对办公室的创新者来说，…无纸?办公室这一尚未实现的梦想是一种典型的高科技傲慢表现”，第二句话接着说“今天的办公室正逐渐被有史以来最多的纸淹没”，这正是傲慢的表现和后果，因此是证实了high-tech hubris。
17、选B。文章第二段第二句提到“过去，人们对纸的需求增长超过美国经济的增长速度，但在近两三年里，尽管有健康的经济局面，纸张销售却产生了明显下降”，因此B项正确。
18、选A。文章第十一段提到，为了减少用纸，一些公司致力于将数字和纸的性能相结合，接着以Xerox Corp.和Anoto Group为例进行了说明，因此A项正确。
19、选C。文章倒数第二段中论述道“数字化的革新实际上增加了纸的消耗”，因此选C。
20、选B。文章第三段第二句话，作者认为不能忽略人们对纸的渴求，并在接下来的段落里引用Merilyn Dunn 的话加以证明。在文章结尾的四段中，作者也多处引用Paul Saffo的话，认为更多的靠科技手段没有减少反而增加了人们对纸的使用。
21、选D。George Orwell说英国是“世界上阶级划分最明显的国家”，而后文也提到英国人对阶级很敏感，因此D 项正确。
22、选B。该句话的含义是“阶级不仅仅意味着财富的多少，它还体现着一些不那么直接的东西”，因此B项表述正确。
23、选C。文章第三段提到，在判定某人所属的阶级时，英国人常常用到几个标准，其中第一个便是职业，可见职业和阶级是紧密联系的。
24、选D。其他三项在第六、四、七段中均有提及。
25、选A。文章倒数第二段中提到，很多英国人倾向于将自己归属于出生时的阶级，而不是与自己的职业和收入相匹配的阶级，他们常常表现出更谦逊的一面，因此A项正确。
26、选D。文章第二、三段几处的用词如furtive、shy、embarrass、blushes等都说明这对夫妇在火车上表现出的笨拙和不自在。
27、选B。文章对火车内部的描述使用了几个词组如dazzling fitting、sea-green figured velvet、shining brass、silver 等都说明火车装饰华丽。
28、选A。文章第十段描述到那个黑人列车服务员“时不时地从远处打量他们，嘴角带着消遣和高人一等的笑容”，有时还以一种不易察觉的方式欺负他们，“他处处表现出不可一世的势利”，这些都说明A项表述正确。
29、选C。这里是用precipice来比喻horizon，是暗喻。
30、选B。文章结尾一句“他们回到车厢，脸上有一种解脱的神情”，说明他们在餐车“过得并不自在”。
2009年3月7日举行的英语专业八级改错真题
The previous section has shown how quickly a rhyme passes
from one school child to the next and illustrates the further difference (1)_____ between shcool lore and nursery lore. In nursery lore a verse, learnt
in early childhood, is not usually passed on again when the little listener (2)_____ has grown up, and has children of their own, or even grandchildren. (3)_____ The period between learning a nursery rhyme and transmitting
It may be something from twenty to seventy years. With the playground (4)_____ lore, therefore, a rhyme may be excitedly passed on whtin the very hour (5)_____ it is learnt; and in the general, it passes between children of the (6)_____
same age, or nearly so, since it is uncommon for the difference in age
between playmates to be more than five years. If therefore, a playground
rhyme can be shown to have been currently for a hundred years, or (7)_____ even just for fifty, it follows that it has been retransmitting over
and over; very possibly it has passed along a chain of two or three (8)_____ hundred young hearers and tellers, and the wonder is that it remains live (9)_____ after so much handling, to let alone that it bears resemblance to the (10)____ original wording.
09年英语专八改错参考答案
(1)illustrated，承接has shown and illustrated；
(2) the little listener改为a little listener，因为是不确指；
(3)their改为his以于上文匹配；
(4)something 改为somewhere，前者少指时间之长短；
(5)therefore显然应为however；
(6) in the general去掉the；
(7) currently 改为current；
(8) it has passed along 改为it has been passed；
(9) live 改为alive；
(10) to let alone去掉to 改为let alone。
作文题：
Should famous Chinese sites of historical interest charge higher fees during peak travel seasons?
参考答案：
Higher entry fees should be charged during peak travel season
With social and economic development, our people have more time and money to visit famous sites of hi storical interest. Their visits, on the one hand, can enrich their own life and meanwhile bring the sites substant ial incomes. On the other hand, too many visits, especially during peak travel peak when there are more visito rs, have caused huge problems. One solution to this is to charge higher fees during peak travel seasons, which I think is necessary and I am in complete favor of this decision.
As we all know, today there is no entrance fee charged for many parks in our country while almost all f amous sites of historical interest still need an entry fee. Some people can not accept this for they think that b oth parks and famous sites of historical interest are part of public services. They should have free access to th em or at least sh ouldn?t pay too much for the visit since they have already paid taxes to the government. The n it is far impossible for those people to allow the sites to charge higher fees during peak travel seasons.
On the surface, the arguments that people opposing to entry fees charged for famous sites of historical int erest hold seem reasonable. But in fact, those people have ignored the unique features of famous sites of histo rical interest which normally imply ample historical and cultural values. Those sites differ from common parks. The relics in these sites are precious and fragile to destroy, and usually need special and professional preserv ation and administration, which turn out to be an expensive exercise that constantly demands resources. Entry f ees must be charged. During peak travel seasons, there is no better measure than raising the entry fees to redu ce the number of tourists. The purpose of charging higher fees is to stop some people? visits so as to better p rotect the valuable relics and at the same time ensure the safety of the tourists. It is obvious that some people will give up their visits considering the higher fees. Here economic means are applied to conserve precious th ings at the sites of historical interest in an appropriate and sustainable way.
In a word, due to the unique features of relics and the need of the sustainable protection of sites of histo rical interest, we must control the number of visitors, especially during the peak travel seasons when there are too many tourists, to diminish the impact of human activities on these sites to its lowest level. And charging higher fees during the peak travel seasons, an effective economic means of regulation will be of great import ance.
Section I Use of English Directions: Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points) Weighing yourself regularly is a wonderful way to stay aware of any significant weight fluctuations. 1 , when done too often, this habit can sometimes hurt more than it 2 . As for me, weighing myself every day caused me to shift my focus from being generally healthy and physically active to focusing 3 on the scale. That was bad to my overall fitness goals. I had gained weight in the form of muscle mass, but thinking only of 4 the number on the scale, I altered my training program. That conflicted with how I needed to train to 5 my goals. I also found that weighing myself daily did not provide an accurate 6 of the hard work and progress I was making in the gym. It takes about three weeks to a month to notice any significant changes in your weight 7 altering your training program. The most 8 changes will be observed in skill level, strength and inches lost. For these 9 , I stopped weighing myself every day and switched to a bimonthly weighing schedule 10 . Since weight loss is not my goal, it is less important for me to 11 my weight each week. Weighing every other week allows me to observe and 12 any significant weight changes. That tells me whether I need to 13 my training program. I use my bimonthly weigh-in 14 to get information about my nutrition as well. If my training intensity remains the same, but I’m constantly 15 and dropping weight, this is a 16 that I need to increase my daily caloric intake. The 17 to stop weighing myself every day has done wonders for my overall health, fitness and well-being. I’m experiencing increased zeal for working out since I no longer carry the burden of a 18 morning weigh-in. I’ve also experienced greater success in achieving my specific fitness goals, 19 I’m trai ning according to those goals, not the numbers on a scale. Rather than 20 over the scale, turn your focus to how you look,
2011年硕士研究生入学考试英语(二) 真题及参考答案Section I Use of English Directions： Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered black and mark A，B，C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points) The Internet affords anonymity to its users，a blessing to privacy and freedom of speech. But that very anonymity is also behind the explosion of cyber-crime that has 1 across the Web. Can privacy be preserved 2 bringing safety and security to a world that seems increasingly 3 ？ Last month，Howard Schmidt，the nation's cyber-czar，offered the federal government a 4 to make the Web a safer place-a "voluntary trusted identity" system that would be the high-tech 5 of a physical key，a fingerprint and a photo ID card，all rolled 6 one. The system might use a smart identity card，or a digital credential 7 to a specific computer .and would authenticate users at a range of online services. The idea is to 8 a federation of private online identity systems. User could 9 which system to join，and only registered users whose identities have been authenticated could navigate those systems. The approach contrasts with one that would require an Internet driver's license 10 by the government. Google and Microsoft are among companies that already have these"single sign-on" systems that make it possible for users to 11 just once but use many different services. 12 .the approach would create a "walled garden" n cyberspace，with safe "neighborhoods" and bright "streetlights" to establish a sense of a 13 community. Mr. Schmidt described it as a "voluntary ecosystem" in which "individuals and organizations can complete online transactions with 14 ，trusting the identities of each other and the identities of the infrastructure 15 which the transaction runs". Still，the administration's plan has 16 privacy rights activists. Some applaud the approach；others are concerned. It seems clear that such a scheme is an initiative push toward what would 17 be a compulsory Internet "drive's license" mentality. The plan has also been greeted with 18 by some computer security experts，who worry that the "voluntary ecosystem" envisioned by Mr. Schmidt would still leave much of the Internet 19 .They argue that all Internet users should be 20 to register and identify themselves，in the same way that drivers must be licensed to drive on public roads. 1． A.swept B.skipped C.walked D.ridden
2017年考研英语二真题 Section I Use of English Directions： Read the following text. Choose the best word (s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points) People have speculated for centuries about a future without work.Today is no different，with academics，writers，and activists once again 1 that technology is replacing human workers. Some imagine that the coming work-free world will be defined by 2 . A few wealthy people will own all the capital，and the masses will struggle in an impoverished wasteland.. A different and not mutually exclusive 3 holds that the future will be a wasteland of a different sort，one 4 by purposelessness：Without jobs to give their lives 5 ，people will simply become lazy and depressed. 6 today’s unemployed don’t seem to be having a great time. One Gallup poll found that 20 percent of Americans who have been unemployed for at least a year report having depression，double the rate for 7 Americans. Also，some research suggests that the 8 for rising rates of mortality，mental-health problems，and addicting9 poorly-educated middle-aged people is shortage of well-paid jobs. Perhaps this is why many 10 the agonizing dullness of a jobless future. But it doesn’t 11 follow from findings like these that a world without work would be filled with unease. Such visions are based on the 12 of being unemployed in a society built on the concept of employment. In the 13 of work，a society designed with other ends in mind could 14 strikingly different circumstances for the future of labor and leisure. Today，the 15 of work may be a bit overblown. “Many jobs are boring，degrading，unhealthy，and a waste of human potential，” says John Danaher，a lecturer at the National University of Ireland in Galway. These days，because leisure time is relatively 16 for most workers，people use their free time to counterbalance the intellectual and emotional 17 of their jobs. “When I come home from a hard day’s w ork，I often feel 18 ，” Danaher says，adding，“In a world in which I don’t have to work，I might feel rather different”—perhaps different enough to throw himself 19 a hobby or a passion project with the intensity usually reserved for 20 matters. 1. [A] boasting [B] denying [C] warning [D] ensuring 2. [A] inequality [B] instability [C] unreliability [D] uncertainty 3. [A] policy [B]guideline [C] resolution [D] prediction 4. [A] characterized [B]divided [C] balanced [D]measured 5. [A] wisdom [B] meaning [C] glory [D] freedom 6. [A] Instead [B] Indeed [C] Thus [D] Nevertheless 7. [A] rich [B] urban [C]working [D] educated 8. [A] explanation [B] requirement [C] compensation [D] substitute 9. [A] under [B] beyond [C] alongside [D] among 10. [A] leave behind [B] make up [C] worry about [D] set aside 11. [A] statistically [B] occasionally [C] necessarily [D] economically 12. [A] chances [B] downsides [C] benefits [D] principles 13. [A] absence [B] height [C] face [D] course
2011年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语(二)试题 Section I Use of English Directions: Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points) The Internet affords anonymity to its users, a blessing to privacy and freedom of speech. But that very anonymity is also behind the exploration of cyber-crime that has __1__ across the Web. Can privacy be preserved __2__ bringing safety and security to a world that seems increasingly __3__ ? Last month, Howard Schmidt, the nation's cyber-czar, offered the federal government a __4__ to make the web a safer place-a "voluntary trusted identity" system that would be the high-tech __5__ of a physical key, a fingerprint and a photo ID card, all rolled __6__ one. The system might use a smart identity card, or a digital credential __7__ to a specific computer, and would authenticate users at a range of online services. The idea is to __8__ a federation of private online identity systems. Users could __9__ which system to join, and only registered users whose identities have been authenticated could navigate those systems. The approach contrasts with one that would require an Internet driver's license __10__ by the government. Google and Microsoft are among companies that already have these "single sign-an" systems that make it possible for users to __11__ just once but use many different services. __12__ , the approach would create a "walled garden" in cyberspace, with safe "neighborhoods" and bright " streetlights" to establish a sense of a __13__ community. Mr. Schmidt described it as a "voluntary ecosystem" in which "individuals and organizations can complete online transactions with __14__ , trusting the identities of each other and the identities of the infrastructure ___15___ which the transaction runs. " Still, the administration's plan has ___16___ privacy rights activists. Some applaud the approach; others are concerned. It seems clear that such a scheme is an initiative push toward what would ___17___ be a compulsory Internet "driver's license" mentality. The plan has also been greeted with ___18__ by some computer security experts, who worry that the "voluntary ecosystem" envisioned by Mr. Schmidt would still leave much of the Internet __19__ They argue that all Internet users should be __20__ to register and identify themselves, in the same way that drivers must be licensed to drive on public roads. 1. [A] swept [B] skipped [C] walked [D] ridden 2. [A] for [B] within [C] while [D] though 3. [A] careless [B] lawless [C] pointless [D] helpless 4. [A] reason [B] reminder [C] compromise [D] proposal 5. [A] information [B] interference [C] entertainment [D] equivalent 6. [A] by [B] into [C] from [D] over 7. [A] linked [B] directed [C] chained [D] compared 8. [A] dismiss [B] discover [C] create [D] improve
2003年英语专业八级真题试卷 [真题] 120 PART I LISTENING COMPREHENSION SECTION A MINI-LECTURE In this section you will hear a mini-lecture. You will hear the lecture ONCE ONLY. while listening, take notes on the important points. Your notes will not be marked, but yon will need them to complete a gap-filling task after the mini-lecture. when the lecture is over, yon will be given two minutes to check your notes, and another ten minutes to complete the gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE. Use the blank sheet for note-taking. 第1题： Which of the following statements about offices is NOT true according to the talk? A.Offices throughout the world are basically alike. B.There are primarily two kinds of office layout. C.Office surroundings used to depend on company size. D.Office atmosphere influences workers' performance. 第2题： We can infer from the talk that harmonious work relations may have a direct impact on your A.promotion. B.colleagues. C.management. D.union. 第3题： Supposing you were working in a small firm, which of the following would you do when you had some grievances? A.Request a formal special meeting with the boss. B.Draft a formal agenda for a special meeting. C.Contact a consultative committee first. D.Ask to see the boss for a talk immediately. 第4题： According to the talk, the union plays the following roles EXCEPT A.mediation.
2014年英语二真题解析 Section I Use of English 1．【答案】B concluded 【解析】题干中，一系列的研究已经_____，事实上，正常体重的人的患病风险要高于超重的人。根据句义，后面的部分实际上是研究的结论，因此concluded符合题意，其他选项denied(否认)与意义相反，doubled(翻倍)与题意较远，ensured(确保)不符合题意，因为研究不能确保后面的事实，只能得出后面的事实作为结论。所以正确答案为B。 2．【答案】A protective 【解析】题干中，对于某些健康情况，超重事实上是有_____。根据前文研究的结论，超重能减少罹患疾病的风险，说明超重具有一定的保护作用。dangerous和文章意思相反，sufficient表示充足，troublesome表示有麻烦，不符合题意，所以正确答案为A。 3．【答案】C likewise 【解析】第三句话中，较重的女人患缺钙的比例低于较瘦的女人。_____，在老年人中，一定程度上超重……。需要填入的是和前半句表示顺接的词语。A选项instead表示逆接的句意关系，B选项however也表示逆接，D 选项therefore表示因此，只有C选项likewise意为同样地;也，而且。因此正确答案为C。
4．【答案】A indicator 【解析】本句话中，_____，一定程度上超重，经常是健康的_____。A选项，表示指示器，指标。B选项objective表示客观;C选项origin表示来源，D选项example表示例子。根据前面的文章内容，已经明确指出超重代表了健康，因此超重是健康的指标。因此正确答案为A。 5．【答案】D concern 【解析】本句话的句意是，需要更加_____是，很难对肥胖加以定义。A．impact(印象);B、relevance(相关性);C．assistance(辅 助);D．concern(关注)。前文已经说到肥胖事实上有利健康，但是又面临一个问题，到底如何去定义肥胖，因此需要更加关注的是对肥的定义，其他选项均不符合题意，所以正确答案为D。 6．【答案】A in terms of 【解析】题干中,肥胖经常______体质指数，或称为BMI来定义。A．in terms of ，根据……，就……而言。B．In case of 表示在某种情况下， C．in favor of 表示赞成，以……来取代，D．in respect of，关于……。因此正确答案为A。在研究和临床测试中经常使用BMI作为衡量受试者健康的重要指标，希望考生能够记住这一背景知识，方便日后做题。 7．【答案】C equals
2005年4月高等教育自学考试全国统一命题考试 英语（二）试卷及答案 （课程代码：00015） PART ONE （50 POINTS） Ⅰ.Vocabulary and Structure (10 points, 1 point for each item) 从下列各句四个选项中选出一个最佳答案，并在答题卡上将相应的字母涂黑。 1.Would’t you rather your child ______ successful with his study and won the scholarship? A. became B. become C. would become D. becomes 2. Although Tom is satisfied with his academic achievement, he wonders _______will happen to his family life. A. it B. that C. what D. this 3. We hope that all the measures against sandstorms, ________ was put forward by the committee, will be considered seriously at the meeting . A. while B. after C. since D. as 4. We cannot leave this tough job to a person_________. A. who nobody has confidence B. in whom nobody has confidence C. for whom nobody has confidence D. who everyone has confidence of 5. You are the best for the job _____ you apply your mind to it . A. until B. if only C. in case D. unless 6.Hey, leave _____!I hate people touching my hair. A. behind B. out C. off D. over 7.I thought the problem of water shortage would ________ at the meeting but nobody mentioned it. A. come up B. come up to C. come over D. come to 8.Mr.Smith , can I ________ you for a minute? I’d like to hear your opinion on this issue. A. say a word with B. have words with C. mention a word with D. have a word with 9.There is a deadlock (僵局) in the discussion when neither side gives ________ to the over . A. a way B. way C. the way D. its way 10. This type of desk and chair can be adjusted ________ the height of students at different ages. A. with B. for C. to D. in Ⅱ.Cloze Test (10 points, 1 point for each item) 下列短文中有十个空白，每个空白有四个选项。根据上下文要求选出最佳答案，并在答题卡上将相应的字母涂黑。 For over a hundred years Japan has consistently spent large sums of money and considerable human resources in an effort to obtain technology. Her ability to negotiate __11___ by the fact most of the technology she wanted was no commercial secrets. Japan’s __12__ has also been strengthened by the fact that her internal market was large, so that __13__ to this market could be offered to multinational companies as an attraction to them to grant licenses. Besides, Japan’s work force was disciplined, so it was capable __14__ applying the information it acquired. Finally, American and European companies, who were __15__ licensers, felt that the
2011年研究生入学考试英语二真题 Section I Use of English Directions：Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered black and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points) "The Internet affords anonymity to its users — a boon to privacy and freedom of speech. But that very anonymity is also behind the explosion of cybercrime that has 1 across the Web. Can privacy be preserved 2 bringing a semblance of safety and security to a world that seems increasingly 3 ? Last month, Howard Schmidt, the nation’s cyberczar, offered the Obama government a 4 to make the Web a safer place — a “voluntary identify” system that would be the high-tech 5 of a physical key, fingerprint and a photo ID card, all rolled 6 one. The system might use a smart identity card, or a digital credential7 to a specific computer, and would authenticate users at a range of online services. The idea is to8 a federation of private online identify systems. Users could9 which system to join, and only registered users whose identities have been authenticated could navigate those systems. The approach contrasts with one that would require an Internet driver’s license10 by the government.
考研英语阅读理解模拟试题及解析一 The majority of successful senior managers do not closely follow the classical rational model of first clarifying goals, assessing the problem, formulating options, estimating likelihoods of success, making a decision, and only then taking action to implement the decision. Rather, in their day-by-day tactical maneuvers, these senior executives rely on what is vaguely termed intuition to manage a network of interrelated problems that require them to deal with ambiguity, inconsistency, novelty, and surprise；and to integrate action into the process of thinking. Generations of writers on management have recognized that some practicing managers rely heavily on intuition. In general, however, such writers display a poor grasp of what intuition is. Some see it as the opposite of rationality; others view it as an excuse for capriciousness. Isenberg's recent research on the cognitive processes of senior managers reveals that managers' intuition is neither of these. Rather, senior managers use intuition in at least five distinct ways. First, they intuitively sense when a problem exists. Second, managers rely on intuition to perform well-learned behavior patterns rapidly. This intuition is not arbitrary or irrational, but is based on years of painstaking practice and hands-on experience that build skills. A third function of intuition is to synthesize isolated bits of data and practice into an integrated picture, often in an Aha！experience. Fourth, some managers use intuition as a check on the results of more rational analysis. Most senior executives are familiar with the formal decision analysis models and tools, and those who use such systematic methods for reaching decisions are occasionally leery of solutions suggested by these methods which run counter to their sense of the correct course of action. Finally, managers can use intuition to bypass in-depth analysis and move rapidly to engender a plausible solution. Used in this way, intuition is an almost instantaneous cognitive process in which a manager recognizes familiar patterns. One of the implications of the intuitive style of executive management is that thinking is inseparable from acting. Since managers often know what is right before they can analyze and explain it, they frequently act first and explain later. Analysis is inextricably tied to action in thinking/acting cycles, in which managers develop thoughts about their companies and organizations not by analyzing a problematic situation and then acting, but by acting and analyzing in close concert. Given the great uncertainty of many of the management issues that they face, senior managers often instigate a course of action simply to learn more about an issue. They then use the results of the action to develop a more complete understanding of the issue. One implication of thinking/acting cycles is that action is often part of defining the problem, not just of implementing the solution. 1. According to the text, senior managers use intuition in all of the following ways EXCEPT to [A] Speed up of the creation of a solution to a problem. [B] Identify a problem. [C] Bring together disparate facts. [D] Stipulate clear goals. 2. The text suggests which of the following about the writers on management mentioned in line 1, paragraph 2？