2016外研社杯全国英语阅读大赛样题

2016外研社试题答案一、单项选择题1. The book is said to be __________ interesting.A. veryB. moreC. mostD. the most答案：A2. The teacher asked the students to __________ the noise and listen to him carefully.A. give upB. put upC. turn downD. keep up答案：C3. There is no __________ in doing that; it won't help us at all.A. meaningB. ideaC. senseD. thought答案：C4. By the time you get to the cinema, the film __________ for half an hour.A. will have startedB. will have been onC. has been onD. has started答案：B5. I don't think he is the thief. The accusation is__________ his age.A. beyondB. aboveC. belowD. under答案：A6. The __________ of the meeting has not been announced yet.A. placeB. timeC. dateD. size答案：C7. He is __________ a poor student; in fact, he always gets high marks.A. more thanB. less thanC. rather thanD. better than答案：C8. The __________ between the two cities is about 500 kilometers.A. distanceB. lengthC. widthD. height答案：A9. The __________ of the story is that good will always triumph over evil.A. pointB. purposeC. conclusionD. moral答案：D10. You can't __________ the importance of hard work if you want to succeed.A. exaggerateB. underestimateC. overestimateD.appreciate答案：B二、完形填空题Passage 1One day, a teacher wanted to teach her students a lesson about __11__. She gave each student a sheet of paper and asked them to __12__ the paper to the person behind them. After everyone had done so, she asked them to write down the __13__ they had received. Most students found that their papers were now covered in __14__ and hard to read.The teacher then explained that the paper represented one's __15__ and reputation. Just as the students had scribbled on the paper, people often leave __16__ on our character through their words and actions. The lesson was to __17__ how wetreat our own name and how we allow others to __18__ us.11. A. patience B. respect C. integrity D. self-esteem答案：C12. A. fold B. pass C. tear D. throw答案：B13. message B. name C. grade D. picture答案：A14. A. notes B. drawings C. stains D. holes答案：C15. A. appearance B. work C. life D. mind答案：C16. A. memories B. marks C. messages D. questions答案：B17. A. forget B. remember C. ignore D. regret答案：B18. A. judge B. know C. help D. change答案：APassage 2When Mark was a child, he loved to play in the __19__ near his house. One day, he found a small bird with a broken wing and decided to __20__ it. He took the bird home and made a cozy nest for it, __21__ it with food and water. Over time, the bird __22__ and was soon able to fly again.Mark's parents were __23__ of his kindness and suggested he release the bird back into the __24__. However, Mark was__25__ about letting it go. After some __26__, he understood that the bird belonged to the wild and that it was the __27__ thing to do.19. A. forest B. garden C. park D. river答案：B20. A. adopt B. follow C. heal D. watch答案：C21. A. feeding B. thanking C. chasing D. hiding答案：A22. A. recovered B. escaped C. disappeared D. changed答案：A23. A. proud B. surprised C. worried D. annoyed答案：A24. A. air B. house C. zoo D. school答案：A25. A. excited B. sad C. angry D. scared答案：B26. A. practice B. discussion C. argument D. experiment答案：B27. A. easiest B. right C.。

The family is the cen ter of most traditi onal Asia ns' lives. Many people worryabout their families' welfare, reputation, and honor. Asian families are often 1 ____ , including several generations related by 2 __ o r marriage living in the same home. An Asia n pers on's misdeeds are not blamed just on the in dividual but also on the family--i ncludi ng the dead 3 ________ .Traditi onal Chin ese, among many other Asia ns, respect their elders and feel adeep sense of duty 4 __ them. Childre n repay their pare nts' 5 __ by being successful and support ing them in old age. This is accepted as a 6 _ part of life in China. 7 ___ , taking care of the aged parents is often viewed as a tremendous 8 ____ i n the United States, where aging and family support are not 9 _______ highly. 10 ____ , in the youth-orie nted Un ited States, grow ing old is see n as a bad thing and many oldpeople do not receive respect.Pilip inos, the most America ni zed of the Asia ns, are 11 ________ extremelyfamily-oriented. They are 12 __ t o helping their children and will sacrifice greatly for their children to get an education. 13___ , the children are devoted to their parents,who ofte n live n earby. Grow n childre n who leave the country for econo mic reas ons 14 __ send large parts of their in come home to their pare nts.The Viet namese family 15 __ people curre ntly 16 __ as well as the spirits of thedead and of the as-yet unborn. Any 17 ______ or actions are done from familycon siderati ons, not in dividual desires. People's behavior is judged 18 _ whether itbrings shame or pride to the family. The Viet namese do not particularly believe in self-relianee; in this way, they are the 19 _______ o f people in the United States. Many Viet namese thi nk that their acti ons in this life will in flue nce their 20 in the n extlife.1. A. en largedB. exte ndedC. expa ndedD. le ngthe ned 2. B. i nteractio n C. blood11. A. meanwhile B. furthermore C. however3. A. pion eer4. A. toward5. A Jon tributi ons6. A. formal7. A. In comparis on8. A. relief9. A. rewardedB. settlers B. sufferi ngs B. n atural B. To the same exte nt B. resp on sibility B. honoredC. immigra nt C. sacrifices C. regular C. I n a way C. burde n C. regardedD. an cestors D. tributes D. peculiar D. In con trast D. bus in ess D. complime nted 10. A. I n fact B. In return D. As a result12. A. confined B. dedicated C. corresponded D. exposed13. return B. In exchange C. In vain D. In turn14. A. occasionally B. intentionally C. typically D. steadily15. A. insists on B. consists of C. persists in D. resists to16. A. living B. lively C. alive17. A. incidences B. decisions C. accidents D. expedition18. A. by19. A. counterpart B. opposite C. competitor D. opponent20. A) station B. status C. stature D. StateOptimism is a good characteristic, but if carried to an excess it becomes foolishness. We are prone to speak of the resources of this country as inexhaustible; this is not so. The mineral wealth of the country , the coal, iron, oil, gas, and the like, does not reproduce itself and therefore is certain to be exhausted ultimately; and wastefulness in dealing with it today means that our descendants will feel the exhaustion a generation or two before they otherwise would. But there are certain other forms of waste which could be entirely stopped--the waste of soil by washing, for instance, which is among the most dangerous of all wastes now in progress in the United States, is easily preventable, so that this present enormous loss of fertility is entirely unnecessary. The preservation or replacement of the forests is one of the most important means of preventing this loss. We have made a beginning in forest preservation, but... So rapid has been the rate of exhaustion of timber in the United States in the past , and so rapidly is the remainder being exhausted, that the country is unquestionably on the verge of a timber famine which will be felt in every household in the land. The present annual consumption of lumber is certainly three times as great as the growth; and if the consumption and growth continue unchanged, practically all our lumber will be exhausted in another generation, while long before the limit to complete exhaustion is reached the growing scarcity will make itself felt in many blighting ways upon our national welfare. About twenty percent of our forested territory is now reserved in national forests; but these do not include the most valuable timberland, and in any event the proportion is too small to expect that the reserves can accomplish more than a mitigation of the trouble which is ahead for the nation.21. The author of the passage is likely to be a(n) ___ .22. According to the passage waste may be categorized into ____ .and unrecycled by-products, vegetable,and mineral productsand infertile wastesand non-preventable exhaustion of resources23. It may be inferred that the author of the passage views the exhaustion of American ' s n-orneproductive wealth as ___________ .24. The author is most concerned about the exhaustion of lumber as a resource because _____ .A. optimism prevents him from taking any actionB. it is being consumed faster than it can be grownC. soil erosion cannot be preventedD. forest preservation is an intense public concern25. According to the passage the author feels that national forests ___ .A. are an unnecessary bureaucratic expenseB. are not created out of the best timberlandC. create a healthy environment for American recreationD. are holding their own against soil erosionPassage TwoTierra del FUego is the end of the world. In geographical terms, it might just be. It is a small triangle of land that sits at the bottom of South America. The name means “ Land of Fire ” . It was given the name by a famous explorer who saw the natives on the shore. The island is shared by Argentina and Chile. Tierra del Fuego is notable for its unique geography.However, the land is anything but fire. It rests at the southernmost tip of South America. The average temperature for the year is 5C . In win ter, it gets much colder. Much of the temperature differences are due to altitude. Rivers of ice form on the Andes Mountains to the west. Cold rain and winds chill the flat lands on the north and the east.It is easy to talk about the land of Tierra del Fuego. The waters that surround it also are unique. They are perhaps the most important in the world. They are home to all kinds of birds. The albatross is the most well-known. There are also whales, squid, and many fish. For a few days in summer, huge schools of sardines move into this part of the world. The local people can simply walk into the water and catch them with shopping bags. Schools of fish are everywhere. They can be caught without bait. These fish are of huge economic value to locals and to the world.Tierra del Fuego is a rare place. In such a small space, it contains varied land features:mountains, forests,and prairies. Two great oceansmeet on either side. This group of features makes it home to a huge range of wildfire. The land has very long days in summer and short days in winter. It is unique place on earth . The word“ notable ” in the passage is closest in the meaning to ________________26. The word “ altitude ” ianstshaegep is closest in meaning to ___27. According to the passage, all of the following are true except ___land is an islandocean is nearbyplace is home to wildlifeland was set on fire28. According to the passage , why are the waters unique?A. The people catch fish with shopping bagsB. Many types of sea life and birds come hereC. The water is great for drinkingD. The ice has good nutritional properties29. The author uses huge schools of sardines as an example of which of the following?A. What the inhabitants like to catchB. How people catch fishC. Fish that come to the islandD. Birds that come to the islandpsychologists have long argued about the relative importance of genetics and environment in determining human intelligence--an issue that is sometimes referred to as the "nature vs. Nurture ” debate.One reason that this question is hard to resolve is that many obstacles stand in the way of researchers who seek to investigate the effects of early childhood environment. Because the presumed environmental effects occur over a long period of time, it obviously would be impractical to conduct experiments in the laboratory. Moreover, ethical considerations ordinarily keep researchers from manipulating the real-life environment of a child.In the classic 1966 study by Harold M. Skeels, however, these obstacles wereovercome because the researcher was able to find and make use of an "experiment in nature". Skeels' study began by chance during the 1930's when he was serving as a psychologist for the state of Iowa. Among his duties was the psychological testing of young children in an orphanage . One day he examined two baby girls who had been legally committed to the orphanage because their mothers, who were each mentally retarded, had neglected them. The girls were emaciated and pitifully inactive, spe nding their days rock ing and whi ning (t A). Skeels found that,although there was no evidence of physical defects, the girls showed the mental development of children less than half their ages; the 16-month-old had a level of seven months; the 13-month-old had a level of six months. In those days, psychologists generally regarded intelligence as a genetically determined characteristic that was relatively fixed at birth. The two little girls were given up as unadoptable and, two months later, they were transferred to the Glenwood State school, an institution for the mentally retarded.Six months after the transfer, Skeels visited the two little girls at Glenwood. He scarcely recognized them. They were alert, smiling, and active. Skeels tested them again and found to his astonishment that they were now approaching normal mental development for their age. Subsequent tests when the girls were about three years of age confirmed their progress.What could explain the remarkable changes in their behavior and mental development? Skeels concluded that the change in environment had to be responsible. The orphanage where the girls spent their early months was understaffed and overcrowded. Much of the time, the young children were confined to large cribs with very little chance for human interaction. At Glenwood, by contrast, the two little girls had a homelike environment, rich in affection and interesting experiences. They lived in a ward with women ranging in age from 18 to 50 (mental age from 5 to 9) who, in effect, "adopted" them. They also received a lot of affection and attention from attendants and nurses who bought them toys and picture books and took them out for excursions.All of this gave Skeels the idea for a bold experiment. He convinced the administrators of the orphanage to transfer 10 more children to the Glenwood State School, pointing out that there was nothing to lose as the children all seemed destined for mental retardation in any case. His experimental group consisted of 13 children ?the two little girls who had transferred earlier, a third girl who had been transferred at about the same time, and the ten new transfers. Ali were under three years of age, and all had been certified as retarded. Their IQ scores ranged from 35 to 89 with a mean of 65. The progress of this experimental group at Glenwood was measured against that of acomparison group of 12 children who remained at the orphanage. The comparison group was considerably closer to average intelligence, with a mean IQ of 87.The contrasts between the two different environments? the drab, sterile orphanage and the lively, stimulating mental institution--became even more marked as the children grew older. At the orphanage, there was little stimulation. Those children over two years old lived in cottages where one matron, aided by three or four untrained girls, had charge of 30 to 35 boys and girls. The cottages were so crowded that the children had to be tightly regimented. At age six, they attended the orphanage elementary school. Later, they were sent to public junior high school where there were few opportunities for individual attention and where they quickly fell behind in their work.Meanwhile, at Glenwood, the transfers from the orphanage had a much more active and lively life. They were "adopted" by adults--attendants as well as the mentally retarded residents. Each child thus had the opportunity for an intense one-to-one emotional relationship with an older person. The children could often play outdoors on tricycles, swings and other equipment. And at the school at Glenwood, the matron in charge singled out children in need of special attention, allowing them to spend stimulating time each day visiting her office.After several months, Skeels tested the children in the experimental and comparison groups. The 13 children in the enriched environment at Glenwood showed an average gain in IQ of points and 3 of the children gained over 45 points. In contrast, the 12 children in the deprived environment at the orphanage showed a decline in average IQ of points.Even more impressive were the results of the follow-up study conducted by Skeels 21 years later. All 13 children in the Glenwood experimental group--11 of whom had been placed for adoption--were self-supporting. In the comparison group, four were still wards of institutions and one had died. The median education level in the experimental group was the twelfth grade, in the comparison group less than the third grade. In the experimental group, subjects held jobs ranging from professional and business occupations to domestic service. Comparison group members who were not in stituti on alized(')A'A) ten ded to have low-level jobs.Skeels' study had one methodological shortcoming: there was no way in which he could completely rule out possible innate differences in his subjects. That is, there may have been some degree to which the 13 children who were transferred to Glenwood had a higher level of intelligence than those who remained behind. Nonetheless, Skeels' study provides extremely persuasive evidence--in the short run and over aperiod of more than two decades--for early environment as a powerful force in the shaping of intelligence.31. The author begins the article with ____ .A. a controversial opinion about environmental influence on human intelligenceB. a concise definition of the term "nature vs. nurture"general remark about a much talked about issue known as the "nature vs. nurture" debateD. an introduction to a new approach to the investigation of genetic and environmental effectsterm "experiment in nature" can best be interpreted as ____ .A. (an) experiment that chanced to happen in natureB. (an) experiment that was conducted without basically changing the subjects' real-life environment or doing any possible harm to themC. (an) experiment that developed naturally without any researcher's interferenceD. none of the above33. From the article, we know for sure the following facts except that___.A. Skeels decided to perform an experiment on the effects of environment when he was asked to do psychological tests on the young children in an orphanageB. the two baby girls were officially sent to the orphanage becausetheir mothers, mentally retarded, could not provide them with care and protectionC. Skeels, like most psychologists of his day, tended to believe that intelligence was only genetically determined, almost fixed at birthD. affection and attention of the home-like environment in the Glenwood State School, an institution for the mentally retarded, brought about surprising changes in the two little girls34. For what reas on does the author describe the Glen wood State School as a "lively,stimulating mental institution" with an "enriched environment"?A. The childre n there had good opport un ities to build up emoti onal relati on ship with older pers ons, staff members or men tally retarded reside nts.childre n there could participate in a variety of outdoor activities.childre n who n eeded special atte nti on were better take n care of.D. All of the above.35. “ Thecottage were so crowded that the children had to be tightly regimented”Can you figure out the meaning of the un derl ined expressi on from the con text?A.strictly discipli ned arran gedcon trolled orga ni zedthe con text we may figure out that the expressi on "wards of in stituti ons" meansA. pers ons who had to stay in certa in places for special care and protecti onB. stude nts who were study ing at orpha nage schoolsC. kids who were committed to hospitals for medical careD. people who were disabled or men tally retarded37. What was the strik ing differe nee betwee n childre n in the experime ntal group and those in the comparis on group?an institution for children's mental development, the orphanage wasinferior to the Gle nwood State School main ly in that39. The author ends his article with the conclusion40. According to the text, this study of Skeels' lasts _____________________.41. Obviously the author takes a very ____________ attitude to Skeels' study.Fields across Europe are contaminated with dangerous levels of the antibiotics give n to farm ani mals. The drugs, which are in manure sprayed on to fields as fertilizers, could be gett ing in to our food and water, helpi ng to create a new generation of antibiotic-resistant "superbugs ” .The warning comes from a researcher in Switzerland who looked at levels of the drugs in farm slurry. 42 ________ . Some 20,000 tons antibiotics are used in the European Union and the US each year. More than half are given to farm-animals to prevent disease and promote growth. 43 ____ . Most researchersassumed that humans become infected with the resistant strains by eating contaminated meat. But far more of the drugs end up in manure than in meat products, says Stephen Mueller of the Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science and Technology in Dubendorf. 44 ___ . With millions of tons animals manure spread onto fields of crops such as wheat and barley each year, this pathway seemsan equally likely route for spreading resistance, he said. The drugs contaminate the crops, which are theneaten. 45 _______ . Mueller is particularly concerned about a group of antibiotics called sulphonamides. 46 ___ . This concentration is high enough to trigger the development of resistance among bacteria. But vets are not treating the issue seriously.There is growing concern at the extent to which drugs, including antibiotics, are polluting the environment. Many drugs given to humans are also excreted unchanged and broken down by conventional sewage treatment.A. They do not easily degrade or dissolve in water. His analysis found that Swiss farm manure contains a high percentage of sulphonamides; each hectare of field could be contaminated with up to 1 kilogram of the drugs.B. And manure contains especially high levels of bugs that are resistant to antibiotics, he says.C. Animal antibiotics is still an area to which insufficient attention has been paid.D. But recent research has found a direct link between the increased use of these farmyard drugs and the appearance of antibiotic-resistant bugs that infect people.E. His findings are particularly shocking because Switzerland is one of the few countries to have banned antibiotics as growth promoters in animal feed.F. They could also be leaching into tap water pumped from rocks beneath fertilized fields.G. There is no doubt that the food and drink is always important to the health.。

2016“外研社杯”全国英语阅读大赛样题Part I Read and KnowIn Part I, you will read short texts of various kinds. Read the instructions carefully and answer the questions. (Time allowed: 22 minutes)Questions 1-3 (Suggested completion time: 5 minutes)Directions: Read the following quotes. Match the quotes on the left with the people on the right. Please note there are two extra options you do not need to use.Questions 4 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.To ensure the high standards of facilities we need to build new wards, laboratories and consulting rooms. In short, we need your help now. Complete the coupon today and rest assured that your donation is going to the best possible cause.4. Where is the piece of text taken from?A. an advertisementB. an instruction bookletC. a storyD. a newspaperQuestions 5 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.Few corners of the world remain untainted by intrepid tourists, and their impact is often devastating. Too frequently they trample heedlessly on fragile environments, displacing wildlife and local populations in their insatiable quest for unexplored locations.5. What is the best title for this text?A. The future of tourismB. The role of tourismC. The price of tourismD. The benefits of tourismQuestions 6 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.Buying and selling anything is your forte now. If you visit a jumble or car-boot sale or the like, a romantic encounter is more than probable! News linked to the family is brilliant!6. What type of text is this?A. A personal advertisement.B. A personal horoscope.C. A friend’s letter of advice.D. A written warning.Questions 7 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.With our travel agency, the holiday you book is the holiday you get. If you arrive and find we’ve failed to live up to our promises, let us know what the problem is within one day of your arrival. We’ll spend 24 hours doing everything possible to sort the problem out. In the unlikely event that we can’t resolve your problem and make you happy within 24 hours, we’ll fly you home and give your money back.7. The text could best be described as __________.A. a commitmentB. an appealC. a warningD. a vowQuestions 8 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.The new digital cameras are great fun and very easy to use. They let you review your pictures the moment you take them, so you can re-shoot right away if you’re not satisfied. But remember, a digital camera is just a computer XXXX. It’s not a replacement for your ordinary camera.8. What is the meaning of the missing word (XXXX) in the text?A. “something that is poor quality”B. “an item that is not essential, something extra”C. “something expensive but good value for money”D. “a fashion which always remains popular”Questions 9 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.She had gone alone, but the children were to go to the station to meet her. And loving the station as they did, it was only natural that they should be there a good hour before there was any chance of Mother’s train arriving, even if the train were punctual, which was most unlikely.9. What can you say about their mother’s train?A. It would probably be early.B. It would probably be on time.C. It would probably be late.D. It had been cancelled.Question 10 (Suggested completion time: 5 minutes)Directions: The bar chart shows the number and proportion of undernourished people in the developing regions, from 1990¬1992 to 2014¬2016. Answer the question according to the information in the chart.Source: The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Report201510. Choose the INCORRECT description about the chart.A.Current estimates suggest that nearly one in nine individuals do not have enough to eatbetween 2014 and 2016.B.Projections indicate that the 2015 MDG target is nearly reached, with 12.9 per cent ofundernourished population.C.The situation noticeably improved during the years 1995-1999, but went down in thefirst five years of the new millennium.D.The proportion of undernourished people in the developing regions has fallen by almosthalf since 1990.Part II Read and ReasonIn Part II, you will read short texts on different subjects. Read the instructions carefully and answer the questions based on logical inference and reasoning. (Time allowed: 38 minutes)Question 11-12 (Suggested completion time: 10 minutes)Directions: Read the definitions of two types of logical fallacy. Answer the questions according to the definitions.11. Which of the following provides a typical example of poisoning the well?A. That’s my stance on funding the education system, and anyone who disagrees with mehates children.B. You are so weird. That means—we are pretty much sure—that your whole family is weird,too.C. God exists because the Bible says so. The Bible is inspired. Therefore, we know that Godexists.D. I don’t care what you say. We don’t need any more booksh elves. As long as the carpet isclean, we are fine.12. Which of the following provides a typical example of a false dilemma?A. Smoking is harmful to health, so you are supposed to quit smoking.B. If the government doesn’t reduce public spendi ng, our economy will collapse.C. You may as well avoid overeating, or else you might be obese in no time.D. You are the worst of the classmates; therefore, what you say is incredible.Questions 13 (Suggested completion time: 4 minutes)Directions: Read the passage about syllogism. Decide whether the reasonings are Valid or Invalid based on the principles of syllogism.Syllogism is a kind of logical argument that applies deductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion based on two or more propositions tha t are asserted or assumed to be true. It is perhaps today’s most commonly accepted form of logical reasoning in aptitude tests. The most commonly used type of syllogisms is elucidated in a frequently used example:Premise 1: All men are mortal.Premise 2: Socrates is a man.Conclusion: Socrates is mortal.Now practice syllogisms for IQ tests. Please note that the conclusion is based on logical reasoning and doesn’t necessarily represent the “truth” always.13. Valid ( ); Invalid ( )Premise 1: All human action is conditioned by circumstances.Premise 2: All human action involves morality.Conclusion: All that involves morality is conditioned by circumstances.Questions 14 (Suggested completion time: 4 minutes)Directions: Read the passage about contraposition. Decide whether the reasonings are Valid or Invalid based on the principles of contraposition.In logic, contraposition is a law that says that a conditional statement is logically equivalent to its contrapositive. The contrapositive of the statement has its antecedent and consequent inverted and flipped. The most commonly used type of contraposition is elucidated in the following example:Premise 1: If it is raining, then there are clouds in the sky.Premise 2: There are no clouds in the sky.Conclusion: It is not raining.Now practice contraposition for IQ tests. Please note that the conclusion is based on logical reasoning and doesn’t necessarily represent the “truth” always.14. Valid ( ); Invalid ( )Premise 1: If he is not an American, he is not from Texas.Premise 2: He is from Texas.Conclusion: He is an American.Questions 15-17 (Suggested completion time: 6 minutes)Directions: Read the text about a science discovery. Answer the questions according to the text.Manipulating MemoryMemory is notoriously malleable. Our recollections fade and take onnew meanings; sometimes we remember things that never evenhappened. But 15 .Recently, however, scientists have started to grasp and tinker with memory’s physical basis. L ast year, in work evocative of films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Inception, researchers discovered ways to manipulate specific memories in mice using optogenetics, a powerful technique that can trigger nerve cells in animals’ brains b y zapping them with beams of laser light. In a series of experiments, they showed that they could delete existing memories and “incept” false ones.This year, researchers went even further: switching the emotional content of a memory in mice from bad to good and vice versa. Under the laser, for example, male mice that had once associated a certain room with being shocked were tricked into acting as though they had once met friendly female mice there instead.Whether the mice in these experiments actually experienced vivid false memories or just a fuzzy sense of pleasure or fear is unclear. Nor is it clear whether the findings apply to the tricks of memory so familiar to people. Long-sought therapeutic advances, such as treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder, could remain far off. One thing is certain, however: Once considered beyond scientific dissection, memory is finally starting to yield its secrets.15. Which of the following best fits the numbered space in the passage?A.what is really happening in our brain as memories are remodeled remains mysteriousB.scientists are curious about why people are oblivious to what have happened to themC.advanced technology has helped scientists discover the workings of our brainD.some scientists argue that what we observe about human memory is not what it really is16. The word “incept” is closest in meaning to ________.A. operateB. startC. detectD. occupy17. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?A.People’s false memories result from the im pact of different emotion provoked by laterexperience on the same spot.B.The success in research indicates that it won’t be long that a therapy is worked out forpeople disturbed by painful memory.C.By zapping the brain cells of mice with light, researchers are able to create, erase, or altertheir memories, good or bad.D.Many fancy ideas in science fictions or movies that are based on them actually drawgreatly upon scientific achievement.Questions 18-19 (Suggested completion time: 4 minutes)Directions: Read the following passage about cholera. Decide whether the statements are True or False according to the passage.A child receives the oral cholera vaccine ShancholCholera is caused by a bacterial infection of the intestine. Approximately one in 20 people infected with cholera has a serious case, with symptoms including severe diarrhea, vomiting, and leg cramps. These symptoms quickly cause dehydration and shock, and can result in death within hours if the infected person doesn’t receive treatment. C holera is typically transmitted by contaminated food or water. In areas with poor treatment of sewage and drinking water, the feces of people with cholera can enter the water supply and spread quickly, resulting in an epidemic. The cholera bacterium may also live in the environment in some coastal waters, so shellfish eaten raw can be a source of cholera in affected areas.18. Cholera is known to be a life-threatening disease which easily causes death of most of the patients.True ( ) False ( )19. Cholera typically occurs in areas near the sea or the river where contaminated food is a major source of the disease.True ( ) False ( )Questions 20-21 (Suggested completion time: 5 minutes)Directions: Read the abstract of a research paper from the DeepMind website. Decide whether the statements are True or False according to the abstract.Teaching Machines to Read and ComprehendAuthors: K. M. Hermann, T. Kočiský, E. Grefenstette, L. Espeholt, W. Kay, M. Suleyman, P. Blunsom Published: NIPS 2015Abstract: Teaching machines to read natural language documents remains an elusive challenge. Machine reading systems can be tested on their ability to answer questions posed on the contents of documents that they have seen, but until now large scale training and test datasets have been missing for this type of evaluation. In this work we define a new methodology that resolves this bottleneck and provides large scale supervised reading comprehension data. This allows us to develop a class of attention based deep neural networks that learn to read real documents and answer complex questions with minimal prior knowledge of language structure.20. Previous studies didn’t take constant effort to evaluate the reading ability of artificial intelligence machines, which was why the present research was conducted.True ( ) False ( )21. One implication of the research is that a methodology that helps gather and handle big data is indispensible to artificial intelligence related studies.True ( ) False ( )Questions 22-23 (Suggested completion time: 5 minutes)Directions: Read the passage about the “Think small” advertising campaign. Answer the questions according to the passage.Think SmallI f you’re interested in marketing and advertising, Volkswagen’s“Think small” campaign for the Beetle when it was firstintroduced to North America in 1959 looms large as one of thegreatest advertising campaigns of all time. It wasn’t just arevolution in automotive advertising; it changed the entireindustry.Until the Beetle hit the market, automotive marketing copy wasfull of bluster, and the images were flights of fancy, emphasizinglow, long lines and a fantasy lifestyle.The clean, simple photography on a white background that emphasized the Beetle’s compact, practical form may seem commonplace these days, but it was a revolution in a world where Americans grew up obsessed with muscle cars, horsepower, and tire smoke. Making the car small, when the convention was to make it fill the page, was also novel. The simplistic approach to design and layout was totally contrary to the advertising conventions of the time.__ 22__ The text was minimalist in both look and content, presenting the facts simply instead of trying to weave tall tales and fantasies; and instead of bluster, it ushered in an intelligent sense of humor that made readers feel like they were in on the joke. The message was one of smartanti-luxury, and took gentle aim at an industry obsessed with superficiality and styling, rather than the substance underneath the car bodies.Not only does “Think small” continue to inspire Volkswagen advertising to this day, it ushered in a creative revolution in the advertising business and changed the world of marketing forever. “Think small” showed the power of hum or and honesty, and its photographic and design principles brought about a major shift in the look and feel of marketing around the world.22. Which of the sentences below best fits the numbered space in the passage?A.What defined the ad even more than its visual style was the tone of its copy.B.This ad starts off doing the exact opposite of what you would expect in a car ad.C.This was an exercise in minimalism and a very accurate reflection on the product itself.D.The car wasn’t depicted as an integral piece o f the daily lives of a middle class family.23. It can be inferred that the advertising conventions of the 1950s were reflected in the following except that ___________.A.the ads in the 1950s typically showed proud owners and passengers evoking great joyabout new shiny big acquisitions.B.the marketing concept then focused on providing as much information as possible to thereader such as the way it’s created.C.the marketing schemes associated the advertised product with an idea or a way of livingfrom average consumers’ perspective.D.the marketing practice may attach importance to a sense of humor brought by the use ofexaggerated language.Part III Read and QuestionIn Part III, you will read passages on the same subject. You will be required to identify th e writer’s position and evaluate the effectiveness of the writer’s arguments. (Time allowed: 30 minutes)Questions 24-35 (Suggested completion time: 30 minutes)Directions: Read three passages about fashion. Answer the questions according to the passages.Passage AIt’s not that easy to answer the question, “what is fashion?” because it means different things to different people. Fashion is an art. It’s a religion. It’s a job. It’s a peek into a personality. It’s playfulness. It’s an escape or a disguis e. It is a feast for the eyes. But ultimately, 25 . French fashion designer Coco Chanel once said, “Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is ha ppening.”It’s true. Fashion isn’t defined solely by our clothing choices, but is also conveyed through the way we carry ourselves, our personalities and our views of the world. At its most fundamental, fashion is simply the prevailing style or custom, as in dress or behavior.So, who exactly answers the question “what is fashion”? Who decides what’s fashionable and what isn’t? What’s in or what’s out?Fashion Designers. The iconic fashion houses—Prada, Gucci, Chanel—are referred to as haute couture, Frenc h for “high sewing.” These designers lead the way in creating trend-setting fashion. While some of their designs are outrageous and completely unrealistic when it comes to everyday wear, generally the theme is adapted into versions suitable for wearing.Media. Fashion trends are often sparked by characters on popular television shows and movies as well as adopted from magazine pages. “Sex and the City,” “The Devil Wears Prada,” these shows introduced us to new, cutting-edge designs. While you might not be caught dead wearing a Carrie Bradshaw original, you might take ideas inspired from her look and piece together your own creation.Celebrities. A prime example of a celebrity-driven fashion trend? UGGs. Until Kate Hudson and Jessica Simpson were spotted wearing them around L.A. several years ago, no one had given any thought to UGG boots. Now they are everywhere.Musicians. Musicians have always been very influential when it comes to dictating fashion. Rock ‘n’ roll is fashion. Elvis is an iconic example. In the 1950s, everyone wanted to dress like Elvis. What about the heavy metal hair bands so popular in the 1980s? Axl Rose reinvented the head bandana while Poison, Motley Crue and Bon Jovi set the pace for big, rocker hair.Just because you don’t know if a Prada bag is fall 2007 or spring 2008 doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you like it and it’s an expression of you. That is fashion.Passage BFashion is more prevalent in modern society than in primitive tribes or peasant communities. The modern society is an open society where class distinctions are not so rigid as in primitive society. Its urban and mobile class structure enables people to cultivate individual taste and adopt new course. The modern society is more tolerant of differences and therefore places few shackles on the cycle of fashion. Our standards of judgment have also changed. Today the individual is rated more by observable externalities than by his ancestry, his character or his genuine accomplishments. The clothes a man wears, the language he speaks, the manners he shows have more weight in ascribing a status than his simplicity, patriotism and integrity.If he can keep himself up to date in the matters of his dress, speech and manners, he will assure himself a high social esteem. Not only the mobile and urban character of modern society but its affluence also speaks for greater prevalence of fashion in it. Men today are richer than their ancestors and have more leisure. They have the necessary means and time to play with luxuries and to think of fashion. Maclver writes: We do not think of fashion in overalls; there is more of fashion in the body of an automobile than in its chassis. There is no fashion in steam shovels. Consequently the higher the standard of living the more material there is for fashion to operate upon.Passage CAs summer has officially faded into the colder weather of autumn, I assumed the days of Nike shorts, comically large T-shirts and polos would be only a memory of yesterday. This has not been the case.Fashion, in and of itself, is already a type of conformism. In order to be considered fashion, a look, a garment or a stylistic choice must be deemed fashionable.Who gets to decide this—what is fashionable? While certain fashion heavyweights play a role in this decision, the ultimate decision is left to the public.As I was surfing the Web recently for inspiration for this column, I came across the Prada website. What I discovered literally caused me to gasp. Of course, everyone knows Prada is an expensive brand—a luxury—but what I discovered shocked me: a keychain priced at $180. No, this keychain was not solid gold or encased in diamonds. It was simply a keychain: a skull with the word “Prada” on a small charm.How can a company charge $180 for a keychain? The answer: people are willing to pay for it. People know the brand and conform to the idea of owning a piece of such an Italian “luxury.”This is nonsensical. Why do we choose to wear miniscule shorts in frigid weather or spend nearly $200 on a charm? Such decisions are influenced by peers, the media and the personal resolution to not make rational, individualistic choices. We cling to the idea of acceptance.In short, we often choose to abide by the pressures of social conventionality, and this leads us to make ridiculous selections—pairing Ugg boots with shorts or wearing neon with camouflage—which we would otherwise not make.I am certainly shamefaced in my occasional conformity to these ludicrous fashion folkways. I am guilty of donning Crocs in public. Yikes!Transient, often preposterous trends referred to as fads inspire some rather strange ideas. Who can recall the pet rocks of the ‘70s or Popples of the ‘80s? Such pop trends are not confined to behavior; they bleed into the fashion world, evidenced in overly distressed jeans, the most painful of neon shades, shoes that resemble Swiss cheese and a host of other fads I do not have the space to mention.I refuse to give up hope for societal common sense.One day we will comprehend that shorts are for the summer and ridiculously expensive keychains are for “never.” Do not allow others to dictate for you. Be bold. Be an individual. Do not buy the keychain.24. The phrase “might not be caught dead” in Passage A most probably means ______.A.would rather not die anywayB.might not be caught red handedC.would refuse completely to do somethingD.might be uneasy though doing something25. Which of the following best fits the numbered space in Passage A?A.fashion is an individual statement of expression for each of usB.fashion facilitates social change by providing a transitional stageC.fashion is not an individual choice but a group choiceD.fashion determines our speech, opinion, dress, music, art, etc.26. It can be inferred from Passage A that fashion designers, media, celebrities and musicians share the following views except ______.A.that fashion is anything but separated from the daily life of ordinary people.B.that nothing completely absurd and unrealistic can finally become fashion.C.that fashion is what society accepts and has an element of social sanction behind it.D.that if a particular choice remains confined to an individual it can’t be called fashion.27. The word “affluence” in Passage B is closest in meaning to ______.A. versatilityB. wealthinessC. peculiarityD. charisma28. According to Passage B, which of the following attributes may probably be more important than others for an individual to be favorably received now?A. A wide range of erudition.B. Loyalty to his or her friends.C. A passion for popular novels.D. Good virtues such as honesty.29. Which of the following is NOT true about the author’s attitude towards fashion according to Passage C?A.The author thinks it a waste of time mentioning a list of examples of irrational fads.B.People are mad about fashion and therefore lose their own good judgment.C.The author never allows himself to be carried away by the fashion trends.D.Behind the behavior of keeping up with fashion is a need to stay in the crowd.30-31. Decide whether the statements are True or False according to the three passages.30. All the three passages agree that fashion plays a role in the interplay of class relations that it satisfies the contrary desires for novelty and for conformity.True ( ) False ( )31. None of the three passages are denying conventional social values in people’s judgment, for example, what’s considered good about things or people.True ( ) False ( )Part IV Read and CreateIn Part IV, you will read a passage and then write a short essay according to it. You should write with clarity and logic. (Time allowed: 40 minutes)Question 32 (Suggested completion time: 40 minutes)Directions: Read a passage from Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason and Seeking the Truth in the Sciences. Write a short essay according to the passage.… And as a multitude of laws often only hampers justice, so that a state is best governed when, with few laws, these are rigidly administered; in like manner, instead of the great number of precepts of which logic is composed, I believed that the four following would prove perfectly sufficient for me, provided I took the firm and unwavering resolution never in a single instance to fail in observing them.The first was never to accept anything for true which I did not clearly know to be such; that is to say, carefully to avoid precipitancy and prejudice, and to comprise nothing more in my judgment than what was presented to my mind so clearly and distinctly as to exclude all ground of doubt.The second, to divide each of the difficulties under examination into as many parts as possible, and as might be necessary for its adequate solution.The third, to conduct my thoughts in such order that, by commencing with objects the simplest and easiest to know, I might ascend by little and little, and, as it were, step by step, to the knowledge of the more complex; assigning in thought a certain order even to those objects which in their own nature do not stand in a relation of antecedence and sequence.And the last, in every case to make enumerations so complete, and reviews so general, that I might be assured that nothing was omitted.The long chains of simple and easy reasonings by means of which geometers are accustomed to reach the conclusions of their most difficult demonstrations, had led me to imagine that all things, to the knowledge of which man is competent, are mutually connected in the same way, and that there is nothing so far removed from us as to be beyond our reach, or so hidden that we cannot discover it, provided only we abstain from accepting the false for the true, and always preserve in our thoughts the order necessary for the deduction of one truth from another. And I had little difficulty in determining the objects with which it was necessary to commence, for I was already persuaded that it must be with the simplest and easiest to know, and, considering that of all those who have hitherto sought truth in the sciences, the mathematicians alone have been able to find any demonstrations, that is, any certain and evident reasons, I did not doubt but that such must have been the rule of their investigations.32. Answer the topic questions with no less than 300 words. You should write in YOUR OWN words:What is the main issue that Descartes explores in this part of the text, and w hat’s his method?。

2016年“外研社杯”全国英语阅读大赛一、大赛主题“‘外研社杯’全国英语阅读大赛”于2015年举办，旨在通过比赛的设计，为大学生提供阅读实践的机会和自我挑战的舞台。

赛题将以国际化人才要求为标准，融入思辨性、拓展性和创造性等关键要素，增强学生的跨文化交际意识，开拓其国际视野，提升其国际素养。

二、大赛组织主办单位：外语教学与研究出版社、北京外研在线教育科技有限公司合办单位：教育部高等学校大学外语教学指导委员会教育部高等学校英语专业教学指导分委员会中国外语教育研究中心三、参赛对象全国具有高等学历教育招生资格的普通高等学校在校本、专科学生、研究生（不包括在职研究生），35岁以下，中国国籍。

曾获得往届“‘外研社杯’全国英语写作大赛”出国及港澳交流奖项的选手不包括在内。

四、参赛方式初赛：符合参赛资格的高校学生可直接向本校外语院（系）或大学外语教学部咨询、报名和参加初赛。

复赛：初赛结束后，举办初赛的外语院（系）或大学外语教学部向本省（市、自治区）大学外语教学研究会报名参加复赛。

每校参赛人数由本省（市、自治区）大学外语教学研究会确定并公布。

决赛：复赛结束后，各省（市、自治区）大学外语教学研究会将获得决赛资格的3名选手向大赛组委会秘书处报名参加全国决赛。

五、参赛注册（报名）大赛官方网站将于2016年6月27日起开放注册窗口。

所有报名参赛的选手必须在大赛官网注册，填写个人信息。

参赛选手在大赛网站注册时所用的电子邮箱及手机号将作为参加复赛和决赛时登录大赛写作系统的重要认证信息。

没有注册的选手无法参加复赛。

参赛选手注册的个人信息须准确、真实。

如经组委会查证与真实情况不符，将取消其参赛资格。

六、赛题构成“‘外研社杯’全国英语阅读大赛”比赛内容包含四个环节：Part I. Read and Know（读以明己）Part II. Read and Reason（读以察世）Part III. Read and Question（读以启思）Part VI. Read and Create（读以言志）七、组织形式初赛参赛方式：各参赛学校作为初赛赛点，由本校外语院（系）或大学外语教学部负责组织实施。

The family is the cen ter of most traditi onal Asia ns' lives. Many people worryabout their families' welfare, reputation, and honor. Asian families are often 1 ____ , including several generations related by 2 __ o r marriage living in the same home. An Asia n pers on's misdeeds are not blamed just on the in dividual but also on the family--i ncludi ng the dead 3 ________ .Traditi onal Chin ese, among many other Asia ns, respect their elders and feel adeep sense of duty 4 __ them. Childre n repay their pare nts' 5 __ by being successful and support ing them in old age. This is accepted as a 6 _ part of life in China. 7 ___ , taking care of the aged parents is often viewed as a tremendous 8 ____ i n the United States, where aging and family support are not 9 _______ highly. 10 ____ , in the youth-orie nted Un ited States, grow ing old is see n as a bad thing and many oldpeople do not receive respect.Pilip inos, the most America ni zed of the Asia ns, are 11 ________ extremelyfamily-oriented. They are 12 __ t o helping their children and will sacrifice greatly for their children to get an education. 13___ , the children are devoted to their parents,who ofte n live n earby. Grow n childre n who leave the country for econo mic reas ons 14 __ send large parts of their in come home to their pare nts.The Viet namese family 15 __ people curre ntly 16 __ as well as the spirits of thedead and of the as-yet unborn. Any 17 ______ or actions are done from familycon siderati ons, not in dividual desires. People's behavior is judged 18 _ whether itbrings shame or pride to the family. The Viet namese do not particularly believe in self-relianee; in this way, they are the 19 _______ o f people in the United States. Many Viet namese thi nk that their acti ons in this life will in flue nce their 20 in the n extlife.1. A. en largedB. exte ndedC. expa ndedD. le ngthe ned 2. B. i nteractio n C. blood11. A. meanwhile B. furthermore C. however3. A. pion eer4. A. toward5. A Jon tributi ons6. A. formal7. A. In comparis on8. A. relief9. A. rewardedB. settlers B. sufferi ngs B. n atural B. To the same exte nt B. resp on sibility B. honoredC. immigra nt C. sacrifices C. regular C. I n a way C. burde n C. regardedD. an cestors D. tributes D. peculiar D. In con trast D. bus in ess D. complime nted 10. A. I n fact B. In return D. As a result12. A. confined B. dedicated C. corresponded D. exposed13. return B. In exchange C. In vain D. In turn14. A. occasionally B. intentionally C. typically D. steadily15. A. insists on B. consists of C. persists in D. resists to16. A. living B. lively C. alive17. A. incidences B. decisions C. accidents D. expedition18. A. by19. A. counterpart B. opposite C. competitor D. opponent20. A) station B. status C. stature D. StateOptimism is a good characteristic, but if carried to an excess it becomes foolishness. We are prone to speak of the resources of this country as inexhaustible; this is not so. The mineral wealth of the country , the coal, iron, oil, gas, and the like, does not reproduce itself and therefore is certain to be exhausted ultimately; and wastefulness in dealing with it today means that our descendants will feel the exhaustion a generation or two before they otherwise would. But there are certain other forms of waste which could be entirely stopped--the waste of soil by washing, for instance, which is among the most dangerous of all wastes now in progress in the United States, is easily preventable, so that this present enormous loss of fertility is entirely unnecessary. The preservation or replacement of the forests is one of the most important means of preventing this loss. We have made a beginning in forest preservation, but... So rapid has been the rate of exhaustion of timber in the United States in the past , and so rapidly is the remainder being exhausted, that the country is unquestionably on the verge of a timber famine which will be felt in every household in the land. The present annual consumption of lumber is certainly three times as great as the growth; and if the consumption and growth continue unchanged, practically all our lumber will be exhausted in another generation, while long before the limit to complete exhaustion is reached the growing scarcity will make itself felt in many blighting ways upon our national welfare. About twenty percent of our forested territory is now reserved in national forests; but these do not include the most valuable timberland, and in any event the proportion is too small to expect that the reserves can accomplish more than a mitigation of the trouble which is ahead for the nation.21. The author of the passage is likely to be a(n) ___ .22. According to the passage waste may be categorized into ____ .and unrecycled by-products, vegetable,and mineral productsand infertile wastesand non-preventable exhaustion of resources23. It may be inferred that the author of the passage views the exhaustion of American ' s n-orneproductive wealth as ___________ .24. The author is most concerned about the exhaustion of lumber as a resource because _____ .A. optimism prevents him from taking any actionB. it is being consumed faster than it can be grownC. soil erosion cannot be preventedD. forest preservation is an intense public concern25. According to the passage the author feels that national forests ___ .A. are an unnecessary bureaucratic expenseB. are not created out of the best timberlandC. create a healthy environment for American recreationD. are holding their own against soil erosionPassage TwoTierra del FUego is the end of the world. In geographical terms, it might just be. It is a small triangle of land that sits at the bottom of South America. The name means “ Land of Fire ” . It was given the name by a famous explorer who saw the natives on the shore. The island is shared by Argentina and Chile. Tierra del Fuego is notable for its unique geography.However, the land is anything but fire. It rests at the southernmost tip of South America. The average temperature for the year is 5C . In win ter, it gets much colder. Much of the temperature differences are due to altitude. Rivers of ice form on the Andes Mountains to the west. Cold rain and winds chill the flat lands on the north and the east.It is easy to talk about the land of Tierra del Fuego. The waters that surround it also are unique. They are perhaps the most important in the world. They are home to all kinds of birds. The albatross is the most well-known. There are also whales, squid, and many fish. For a few days in summer, huge schools of sardines move into this part of the world. The local people can simply walk into the water and catch them with shopping bags. Schools of fish are everywhere. They can be caught without bait. These fish are of huge economic value to locals and to the world.Tierra del Fuego is a rare place. In such a small space, it contains varied land features:mountains, forests,and prairies. Two great oceansmeet on either side. This group of features makes it home to a huge range of wildfire. The land has very long days in summer and short days in winter. It is unique place on earth . The word“ notable ” in the passage is closest in the meaning to ________________26. The word “ altitude ” ianstshaegep is closest in meaning to ___27. According to the passage, all of the following are true except ___land is an islandocean is nearbyplace is home to wildlifeland was set on fire28. According to the passage , why are the waters unique?A. The people catch fish with shopping bagsB. Many types of sea life and birds come hereC. The water is great for drinkingD. The ice has good nutritional properties29. The author uses huge schools of sardines as an example of which of the following?A. What the inhabitants like to catchB. How people catch fishC. Fish that come to the islandD. Birds that come to the islandpsychologists have long argued about the relative importance of genetics and environment in determining human intelligence--an issue that is sometimes referred to as the "nature vs. Nurture ” debate.One reason that this question is hard to resolve is that many obstacles stand in the way of researchers who seek to investigate the effects of early childhood environment. Because the presumed environmental effects occur over a long period of time, it obviously would be impractical to conduct experiments in the laboratory. Moreover, ethical considerations ordinarily keep researchers from manipulating the real-life environment of a child.In the classic 1966 study by Harold M. Skeels, however, these obstacles wereovercome because the researcher was able to find and make use of an "experiment in nature". Skeels' study began by chance during the 1930's when he was serving as a psychologist for the state of Iowa. Among his duties was the psychological testing of young children in an orphanage . One day he examined two baby girls who had been legally committed to the orphanage because their mothers, who were each mentally retarded, had neglected them. The girls were emaciated and pitifully inactive, spe nding their days rock ing and whi ning (t A). Skeels found that,although there was no evidence of physical defects, the girls showed the mental development of children less than half their ages; the 16-month-old had a level of seven months; the 13-month-old had a level of six months. In those days, psychologists generally regarded intelligence as a genetically determined characteristic that was relatively fixed at birth. The two little girls were given up as unadoptable and, two months later, they were transferred to the Glenwood State school, an institution for the mentally retarded.Six months after the transfer, Skeels visited the two little girls at Glenwood. He scarcely recognized them. They were alert, smiling, and active. Skeels tested them again and found to his astonishment that they were now approaching normal mental development for their age. Subsequent tests when the girls were about three years of age confirmed their progress.What could explain the remarkable changes in their behavior and mental development? Skeels concluded that the change in environment had to be responsible. The orphanage where the girls spent their early months was understaffed and overcrowded. Much of the time, the young children were confined to large cribs with very little chance for human interaction. At Glenwood, by contrast, the two little girls had a homelike environment, rich in affection and interesting experiences. They lived in a ward with women ranging in age from 18 to 50 (mental age from 5 to 9) who, in effect, "adopted" them. They also received a lot of affection and attention from attendants and nurses who bought them toys and picture books and took them out for excursions.All of this gave Skeels the idea for a bold experiment. He convinced the administrators of the orphanage to transfer 10 more children to the Glenwood State School, pointing out that there was nothing to lose as the children all seemed destined for mental retardation in any case. His experimental group consisted of 13 children ?the two little girls who had transferred earlier, a third girl who had been transferred at about the same time, and the ten new transfers. Ali were under three years of age, and all had been certified as retarded. Their IQ scores ranged from 35 to 89 with a mean of 65. The progress of this experimental group at Glenwood was measured against that of acomparison group of 12 children who remained at the orphanage. The comparison group was considerably closer to average intelligence, with a mean IQ of 87.The contrasts between the two different environments? the drab, sterile orphanage and the lively, stimulating mental institution--became even more marked as the children grew older. At the orphanage, there was little stimulation. Those children over two years old lived in cottages where one matron, aided by three or four untrained girls, had charge of 30 to 35 boys and girls. The cottages were so crowded that the children had to be tightly regimented. At age six, they attended the orphanage elementary school. Later, they were sent to public junior high school where there were few opportunities for individual attention and where they quickly fell behind in their work.Meanwhile, at Glenwood, the transfers from the orphanage had a much more active and lively life. They were "adopted" by adults--attendants as well as the mentally retarded residents. Each child thus had the opportunity for an intense one-to-one emotional relationship with an older person. The children could often play outdoors on tricycles, swings and other equipment. And at the school at Glenwood, the matron in charge singled out children in need of special attention, allowing them to spend stimulating time each day visiting her office.After several months, Skeels tested the children in the experimental and comparison groups. The 13 children in the enriched environment at Glenwood showed an average gain in IQ of points and 3 of the children gained over 45 points. In contrast, the 12 children in the deprived environment at the orphanage showed a decline in average IQ of points.Even more impressive were the results of the follow-up study conducted by Skeels 21 years later. All 13 children in the Glenwood experimental group--11 of whom had been placed for adoption--were self-supporting. In the comparison group, four were still wards of institutions and one had died. The median education level in the experimental group was the twelfth grade, in the comparison group less than the third grade. In the experimental group, subjects held jobs ranging from professional and business occupations to domestic service. Comparison group members who were not in stituti on alized(')A'A) ten ded to have low-level jobs.Skeels' study had one methodological shortcoming: there was no way in which he could completely rule out possible innate differences in his subjects. That is, there may have been some degree to which the 13 children who were transferred to Glenwood had a higher level of intelligence than those who remained behind. Nonetheless, Skeels' study provides extremely persuasive evidence--in the short run and over aperiod of more than two decades--for early environment as a powerful force in the shaping of intelligence.31. The author begins the article with ____ .A. a controversial opinion about environmental influence on human intelligenceB. a concise definition of the term "nature vs. nurture"general remark about a much talked about issue known as the "nature vs. nurture" debateD. an introduction to a new approach to the investigation of genetic and environmental effectsterm "experiment in nature" can best be interpreted as ____ .A. (an) experiment that chanced to happen in natureB. (an) experiment that was conducted without basically changing the subjects' real-life environment or doing any possible harm to themC. (an) experiment that developed naturally without any researcher's interferenceD. none of the above33. From the article, we know for sure the following facts except that___.A. Skeels decided to perform an experiment on the effects of environment when he was asked to do psychological tests on the young children in an orphanageB. the two baby girls were officially sent to the orphanage becausetheir mothers, mentally retarded, could not provide them with care and protectionC. Skeels, like most psychologists of his day, tended to believe that intelligence was only genetically determined, almost fixed at birthD. affection and attention of the home-like environment in the Glenwood State School, an institution for the mentally retarded, brought about surprising changes in the two little girls34. For what reas on does the author describe the Glen wood State School as a "lively,stimulating mental institution" with an "enriched environment"?A. The childre n there had good opport un ities to build up emoti onal relati on ship with older pers ons, staff members or men tally retarded reside nts.childre n there could participate in a variety of outdoor activities.childre n who n eeded special atte nti on were better take n care of.D. All of the above.35. “ Thecottage were so crowded that the children had to be tightly regimented”Can you figure out the meaning of the un derl ined expressi on from the con text?A.strictly discipli ned arran gedcon trolled orga ni zedthe con text we may figure out that the expressi on "wards of in stituti ons" meansA. pers ons who had to stay in certa in places for special care and protecti onB. stude nts who were study ing at orpha nage schoolsC. kids who were committed to hospitals for medical careD. people who were disabled or men tally retarded37. What was the strik ing differe nee betwee n childre n in the experime ntal group and those in the comparis on group?an institution for children's mental development, the orphanage wasinferior to the Gle nwood State School main ly in that39. The author ends his article with the conclusion40. According to the text, this study of Skeels' lasts _____________________.41. Obviously the author takes a very ____________ attitude to Skeels' study.Fields across Europe are contaminated with dangerous levels of the antibiotics give n to farm ani mals. The drugs, which are in manure sprayed on to fields as fertilizers, could be gett ing in to our food and water, helpi ng to create a new generation of antibiotic-resistant "superbugs ” .The warning comes from a researcher in Switzerland who looked at levels of the drugs in farm slurry. 42 ________ . Some 20,000 tons antibiotics are used in the European Union and the US each year. More than half are given to farm-animals to prevent disease and promote growth. 43 ____ . Most researchersassumed that humans become infected with the resistant strains by eating contaminated meat. But far more of the drugs end up in manure than in meat products, says Stephen Mueller of the Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science and Technology in Dubendorf. 44 ___ . With millions of tons animals manure spread onto fields of crops such as wheat and barley each year, this pathway seemsan equally likely route for spreading resistance, he said. The drugs contaminate the crops, which are theneaten. 45 _______ . Mueller is particularly concerned about a group of antibiotics called sulphonamides. 46 ___ . This concentration is high enough to trigger the development of resistance among bacteria. But vets are not treating the issue seriously.There is growing concern at the extent to which drugs, including antibiotics, are polluting the environment. Many drugs given to humans are also excreted unchanged and broken down by conventional sewage treatment.A. They do not easily degrade or dissolve in water. His analysis found that Swiss farm manure contains a high percentage of sulphonamides; each hectare of field could be contaminated with up to 1 kilogram of the drugs.B. And manure contains especially high levels of bugs that are resistant to antibiotics, he says.C. Animal antibiotics is still an area to which insufficient attention has been paid.D. But recent research has found a direct link between the increased use of these farmyard drugs and the appearance of antibiotic-resistant bugs that infect people.E. His findings are particularly shocking because Switzerland is one of the few countries to have banned antibiotics as growth promoters in animal feed.F. They could also be leaching into tap water pumped from rocks beneath fertilized fields.G. There is no doubt that the food and drink is always important to the health.。

B. A personal horoscope.C. A friend’s letter of advice.D. A written warning.Questions 7 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.With our travel agency, the holiday you book is the holiday you get. If you arrive and find we’ve failed to live up to our promises, let us know what the problem is within one day of your arrival. We’ll spend 24 hours doing everything possible to sort the problem out. In the unlikely event that we can’t resolve yourpr oblem and make you happy within 24 hours, we’ll fly you home and give your money back.7. The text could best be described as __________.A. a commitmentB. an appealC. a warningD. a vowQuestions 8 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.The new digital cameras are great fun and very easy to use. They let you review your pictures the moment you take them, so you can re-shoot right away if you’re not satisfied. But remember, a digital camera is just a computer XXXX. It’s not a replacement for your ordinary camera.8. What is the meaning of the missing word (XXXX) in the text?A. “something that is poor quality”B. “an item that is not essential, something extra”C. “something expensive but good value for money”D. “a fashion which always remains popular”Questions 9 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.She had gone alone, but the children were to go to the station to meet her. And loving the station as they did, it was only natural that they should be there a good hour before there was any chance of Mother’s train arriving, even if the train were punctual, which was most unlikely.9. What can you say ab out their mother’s train?A. It would probably be early.B. It would probably be on time.C. It would probably be late.D. It had been cancelled.Question 10 (Suggested completion time: 5 minutes)Directions: The bar chart shows the number and proportion of undernourished people in the developing regions, from 1990¬1992 to 2014¬2016. Answer the question according to the information in the chart.Source: The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Report2015Recently, however, scientists have started to grasp and tinker with memory’s physical basis. Last year, in work evocative of films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Inception, researchersdiscovered ways to manipulate specific memories in mice using optogenetics, a powerful technique that can trigger nerve cells in animals’ brains by zapping them with beams of laser light. In a series of experiments, they showed that they could delete existing memories and “incept” false ones.This year, researchers went even further: switching the emotional content of a memory in mice from bad to good and vice versa. Under the laser, for example, male mice that had once associated a certain room with being shocked were tricked into acting as though they had once met friendly female mice there instead.Whether the mice in these experiments actually experienced vivid false memories or just a fuzzy sense of pleasure or fear is unclear. Nor is it clear whether the findings apply to the tricks of memory so familiar to people. Long-sought therapeutic advances, such as treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder, could remain far off. One thing is certain, however: Once considered beyond scientific dissection, memory is finally starting to yield its secrets.15. Which of the following best fits the numbered space in the passage?A. what is really happening in our brain as memories are remodeled remains mysteriousB. scientists are curious about why people are oblivious to what have happened to themC. advanced technology has helped scientists discover the workings of our brainD. some scientists argue that what we observe about human memory is not what it really is16. The word “incept” is closest in meaning to ________.E. operateF. startG. detectH. occupy17. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?I. People’s false memories result from the impact of different emotion provoked by later experience on thesame spot.J. The success in research indicates that it won’t be long that a therapy is worked out for people disturbed by painful memory.K. By zapping the brain cells of mice with light, researchers are able to create, erase, or alter their memories, good or bad.L. Many fancy ideas in science fictions or movies that are based on them actually draw greatly upon scientific achievement.Questions 18-19 (Suggested completion time: 4 minutes)Directions: Read the following passage about cholera. Decide whether the statements are True or False according to the passage.A child receives the oral cholera vaccine ShancholCholera is caused by a bacterial infection of the intestine. Approximately one in 20 people infected with cholera has a serious case, with symptoms including severe diarrhea, vomiting, and leg cramps. Thesesymptoms quickly cause dehydration and shock, and can result in death within hours if the infected person doesn’t receive treatment. Cholera is typically transmitted by contaminated food or water. In areas with poor treatment of sewage and drinking water, the feces of people with cholera can enter the water supply and spread quickly, resulting in an epidemic. The cholera bacterium may also live in the environment in some coastal waters, so shellfish eaten raw can be a source of cholera in affected areas.18. Cholera is known to be a life-threatening disease which easily causes death of most of the patients.True ( ) False ( )19. Cholera typically occurs in areas near the sea or the river where contaminated food is a major source of the disease.True ( ) False ( )Questions 20-21 (Suggested completion time: 5 minutes)Directions: Read the abstract of a research paper from the DeepMind website. Decide whether the statements are True or False according to the abstract.Teaching Machines to Read and ComprehendAuthors: K. M. Hermann, T. Kočiský, E. Grefenstette, L. Espeholt, W. Kay, M. Suleyman, P. Blunsom Published: NIPS 2015Abstract: Teaching machines to read natural language documents remains an elusive challenge. Machine reading systems can be tested on their ability to answer questions posed on the contents of documents that they have seen, but until now large scale training and test datasets have been missing for this type of evaluation. In this work we define a new methodology that resolves this bottleneck and provides large scale supervised reading comprehension data. This allows us to develop a class of attention based deep neural networks that learn to read real documents and answer complex questions with minimal prior knowledge of language structure.20. Previous studies didn’t take constant effort to evaluate the reading ability of artificial intelligence machines, which was why the present research was conducted.True ( ) False ( )21. One implication of the research is that a methodology that helps gather and handle big data is indispensible to artificial intelligence related studies.True ( ) False ( )Questions 22-23 (Suggested completion time: 5 minutes)Directions: Read the passage about the “Think small” advertising campaign. Answer the questions according to the passage.Think SmallDirections: Read three passages about fashion. Answer the questions according to the passages.Passage AIt’s not that easy to answer the question, “what is fashion?” because it means different things to different people. Fashion is an art. It’s a religion. It’s a job. It’s a peek into a personality. It’s playfulness. It’s an escape or a disguise. It is a feast for the eyes. But ultimately, 25 . French fashion designer Coco Chanel once said, “Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the str eet, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.”It’s true. Fashion isn’t defined solely by our clothing choices, but is also conveyed through the way we carry ourselves, our personalities and our views of the world. At its most fundamental, fashion is simply the prevailing style or custom, as in dress or behavior.So, who exactly answers the question “what is fashion”? Who decides what’s fashionable and what isn’t? What’s in or what’s out?Fashion Designers. The iconic fashion houses—Prada, Gucci, Chanel—are referred to as haute couture, French for “high sewing.” These designers lead the way in creating trend-setting fashion. While some of their designs are outrageous and completely unrealistic when it comes to everyday wear, generally the theme is adapted into versions suitable for wearing.Media. Fashion trends are often sparked by characters on popular television shows and movies as well as adopted from magazine pages. “Sex and the City,” “The Devil Wears Prada,” these shows introdu ced us to new, cutting-edge designs. While you might not be caught dead wearing a Carrie Bradshaw original, you might take ideas inspired from her look and piece together your own creation.Celebrities. A prime example of a celebrity-driven fashion trend? UGGs. Until Kate Hudson and Jessica Simpson were spotted wearing them around L.A. several years ago, no one had given any thought to UGG boots. Now they are everywhere.Musicians. Musicians have always been very influential when it comes to dictating fash ion. Rock ‘n’ roll is fashion. Elvis is an iconic example. In the 1950s, everyone wanted to dress like Elvis. What about the heavy metal hair bands so popular in the 1980s? Axl Rose reinvented the head bandana while Poison, Motley Crue and Bon Jovi set the pace for big, rocker hair.Just because you don’t know if a Prada bag is fall 2007 or spring 2008 doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you like it and it’s an expression of you. That is fashion.Passage BFashion is more prevalent in modern society than in primitive tribes or peasant communities. The modern society is an open society where class distinctions are not so rigid as in primitive society. Its urban and mobile class structure enables people to cultivate individual taste and adopt new course. The modern society is more tolerant of differences and therefore places few shackles on the cycle of fashion. Our standards of judgment have also changed. Today the individual is rated more by observable externalities than by his ancestry, his character or his genuine accomplishments. The clothes a man wears, the language he speaks, the manners he shows have more weight in ascribing a status than his simplicity, patriotism and integrity.If he can keep himself up to date in the matters of his dress, speech and manners, he will assure himself a high social esteem. Not only the mobile and urban character of modern society but its affluence also speaks for greater prevalence of fashion in it. Men today are richer than their ancestors and have more leisure. Theyhave the necessary means and time to play with luxuries and to think of fashion. Maclver writes: We do not think of fashion in overalls; there is more of fashion in the body of an automobile than in its chassis. There is no fashion in steam shovels. Consequently the higher the standard of living the more material there is for fashion to operate upon.Passage CAs summer has officially faded into the colder weather of autumn, I assumed the days of Nike shorts, comically large T-shirts and polos would be only a memory of yesterday. This has not been the case.Fashion, in and of itself, is already a type of conformism. In order to be considered fashion, a look, agarment or a stylistic choice must be deemed fashionable.Who gets to decide this—what is fashionable? While certain fashion heavyweights play a role in thisdecision, the ultimate decision is left to the public.As I was surfing the Web recently for inspiration for this column, I came across the Prada website. What I discovered literally caused me to gasp. Of course, everyone knows Prada is an expensive brand—aluxury—but what I discovered shocked me: a keychain priced at $180. No, this keychain was not solid gold or e ncased in diamonds. It was simply a keychain: a skull with the word “Prada” on a small charm.How can a company charge $180 for a keychain? The answer: people are willing to pay for it. People know the brand and conform to the idea of owning a piece of su ch an Italian “luxury.”This is nonsensical. Why do we choose to wear miniscule shorts in frigid weather or spend nearly $200 on a charm? Such decisions are influenced by peers, the media and the personal resolution to not make rational, individualistic choices. We cling to the idea of acceptance.In short, we often choose to abide by the pressures of social conventionality, and this leads us to make ridiculous selections—pairing Ugg boots with shorts or wearing neon with camouflage—which we would otherwise not make.I am certainly shamefaced in my occasional conformity to these ludicrous fashion folkways. I am guilty ofdonning Crocs in public. Yikes!Transient, often preposterous trends referred to as fads inspire some rather strange ideas. Who can recall the pet rocks of the ‘70s or Popples of the ‘80s? Such pop trends are not confined to behavior; they bleed into the fashion world, evidenced in overly distressed jeans, the most painful of neon shades, shoes that resemble Swiss cheese and a host of other fads I do not have the space to mention.I refuse to give up hope for societal common sense.One day we will comprehend that shorts are for the summer and ridiculously expensive keychains are for “never.” Do not allow others to dictate for you. Be bold. Be an individual. Do not buy the keychain.24. The phrase “might not be caught dead” in Passage A most probably means ______.A. would rather not die anywayB. might not be caught red handedC. would refuse completely to do somethingD. might be uneasy though doing something25. Which of the following best fits the numbered space in Passage A?A. fashion is an individual statement of expression for each of usB. fashion facilitates social change by providing a transitional stageC. fashion is not an individual choice but a group choiceD. fashion determines our speech, opinion, dress, music, art, etc.26. It can be inferred from Passage A that fashion designers, media, celebrities and musicians share thefollowing views except ______.A. that fashion is anything but separated from the daily life of ordinary people.B. that nothing completely absurd and unrealistic can finally become fashion.C. that fashion is what society accepts and has an element of social sanction behind it.D. that if a particular choice remains confined to an individual it can’t be called fashion.27. The word “affluence” in Passage B is closest in meaning to ______.A. versatilityB. wealthinessC. peculiarityD. charisma28. According to Passage B, which of the following attributes may probably be more important than othersfor an individual to be favorably received now?A. A wide range of erudition.B. Loyalty to his or her friends.C. A passion for popular novels.D. Good virtues such as honesty.29. Which of the following is NOT true about the author’s attitude towards fashion according to Passage C?A. The author thinks it a waste of time mentioning a list of examples of irrational fads.B. People are mad about fashion and therefore lose their own good judgment.C. The author never allows himself to be carried away by the fashion trends.D. Behind the behavior of keeping up with fashion is a need to stay in the crowd.30-31. Decide whether the statements are True or False according to the three passages.30. All the three passages agree that fashion plays a role in the interplay of class relations that it satisfiesthe contrary desires for novelty and for conformity.True ( ) False ( )31. None of the three passages are denying conventional social values in people’s judgment, for example,what’s considered good about things or people.True ( ) False ( )Part IV Read and CreateIn Part IV, you will read a passage and then write a short essay according to it. You should write with clarity and logic. (Time allowed: 40 minutes)Question 32 (Suggested completion time: 40 minutes)Directions: Read a passage from Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason and Seeking the Truth in the Sciences. Write a short essay according to the passage.… And as a multitude of laws often only hampers justice, so that a state is best governed when, with few laws, these are rigidly administered; in like manner, instead of the great number of precepts of which logic iscomposed, I believed that the four following would prove perfectly sufficient for me, provided I took the firm and unwavering resolution never in a single instance to fail in observing them.The first was never to accept anything for true which I did not clearly know to be such; that is to say, carefully to avoid precipitancy and prejudice, and to comprise nothing more in my judgment than what was presented to my mind so clearly and distinctly as to exclude all ground of doubt.The second, to divide each of the difficulties under examination into as many parts as possible, and as might be necessary for its adequate solution.The third, to conduct my thoughts in such order that, by commencing with objects the simplest and easiest to know, I might ascend by little and little, and, as it were, step by step, to the knowledge of the more complex; assigning in thought a certain order even to those objects which in their own nature do not stand in a relation of antecedence and sequence.And the last, in every case to make enumerations so complete, and reviews so general, that I might be assured that nothing was omitted.The long chains of simple and easy reasonings by means of which geometers are accustomed to reach the conclusions of their most difficult demonstrations, had led me to imagine that all things, to the knowledge of which man is competent, are mutually connected in the same way, and that there is nothing so far removed from us as to be beyond our reach, or so hidden that we cannot discover it, provided only we abstain from accepting the false for the true, and always preserve in our thoughts the order necessary for the deduction of one truth from another. And I had little difficulty in determining the objects with which it was necessary to commence, for I was already persuaded that it must be with the simplest and easiest to know, and, considering that of all those who have hitherto sought truth in the sciences, the mathematicians alone have been able to find any demonstrations, that is, any certain and evident reasons, I did not doubt but that such must have been the rule of their investigations.32. Answer the topic questions with no less than 300 words. You should write in YOUR OWN words:What is the main issue that Descartes explores in this part of the text, and what’s his method? What’s your OWN understanding of the methods proposed by Descartes?。

“‘外研社杯’全国英语阅读大赛”样题一、“‘外研社杯’全国英语阅读大赛”比赛内容包含四个环节：PartⅠRead and Know（读以明己）PartⅡRead and Reason（读以察世）PartⅢ Read and Question（读以启思）PartⅣ Read and Create（读以言志）二、比赛样题仅为2015年阅读大赛赛题的内容和形式样例，并非完整试卷。

三、大赛的模拟赛、复赛和决赛都将包含样题的四个环节，但各环节的赛题内容和形式会根据不同阶段比赛有所变化。

四、大赛的初赛由参赛学校参考样题内容自行命题，组委会不做硬性规定。

五、“PartⅣ Read and Create（读以言志）”部分，组委会将在赛前公布大赛推荐阅读书单。

Part I Read and KnowIn this part, you will read some questions about your abilities or personalities. Read as fast as you can and choose the answer that you think best describes yourself.Are You Charismatic?Charisma is the magnetic power that attracts people to you. It won’t affect the quality of your work or provide you with wonderful original ideas, but it remains one of the most vital talents if you want to make it b ig in life. If people who don’t even understand what you’re talking about believe that you are a genius, you will have made it. The following test will decide whether you’ve got what it takes.1) Do people find themselves attracted to you?A. Yes, it can be embarrassing sometimes.B. No, no more than other people.C. I suppose they do a bit.2) Do you find that people agree with you regardless of the quality of your arguments?A. No, never.B. Not that often.C. All the time.3) Would you find it easy to attract followers?A. No, not at all.B. Not very easy.C. Yes, it’s really no problem.4) Do you find casual acquaintances open up and tell you their life stories in intimate detail?A. Occasionally.B. Never.C. Happens all the time. Sometimes I just can’t get away....Part II Read and ReasonIn this part, you will read texts of different forms and genres. Read the instructions carefully and answer the questions based on your comprehension, analysis and inferences of the texts.1. Among the four statements below, one statement is the main point, and the other three are specific support for the point. Identify the main point with P and the specific support with S.___A. Hungry bears searching for food often threaten hikers.___B. Hiking on that mountain trail can be very dangerous.___C. Severe weather develops quickly, leaving hikers exposed to storms and cold.___D. When it rains, the trail, which is very steep at some points, becomes slippery.2. Read the following cartoon. Put a tick by the three statements that are most logically based on the information suggested by the cartoon.___A.Lucy has just criticized the boy, Linus.___B. Linus feels Lucy’s criticism is valid.___C. Lucy feels very guilty that Linus has taken her criticism badly.___D. Lucy doesn’t seem to realize that people may accept constructive criticismbut reject destructive criticism.___E. The cartoonist believes we should never criticize others.___F. The cartoonist believes it’s best to criticize others in a constructive way.3. Read an extract of an advertisement. Choose the answer which you think fits each question best according to the text.Young Environmental Journalist CompetitionHow to Enter:☆If you’re aged 16-25, we’re looking for original articles of 1,000 words (or less) with an environmental or conservation theme. The closing date for entries is 30 December, 2015.☆ Your article should show proof of investigative research, rather than relying solely on information from the Internet and phone interviews. You don’t have to go far. A report on pollution in a local stream would be as valid as a piece about the remotest rain forest.☆ Your article should show you are passionate and knowledgeable about environmental issues. It should also be objective and accurate, while being creative enough to hold the reader’s interest. We are not looking for “think pieces” or opinion columns.☆ Your aim should be to advance understanding and awareness of environmental issues. You should be able to convey complex ideas of readers of this general interest magazine in an engaging and authoritative manner.☆Facts or information contained in short-listed articles will be checked.☆ Read the rules carefully.1) Before entering for the competition, young people must have_______.A. conducted some relevant research in their local areaB. gained a qualification in experimental researchC. uncovered some of the evidence in the research by themselvesD. consulted a number of specialists on the subject under research2) The articles submitted must_______.A. focus on straightforward conceptsB. include a range of viewsC. be accessible to non-specialistD. reveal the writer’s standpoint4.Read the passage below. Then choose the best answer to each question that follows.(1) Johnny Appleseed, one of the gentlest and most beloved of American folk heroes, was born in 1774in Leominster, Massachusetts. (2) His real name was John Chapman. (3) Chapman’s early li fe was full of misfortune. (4) First, his father left home to fight in the Revolutionary War. (5) Then John’s mother and baby brother died before John’s second birthday. (6) However, John’s fortunes improved when his father returned and remarried, and by the time John was in his teens, he had ten brothers and sisters.(7) As a young man, John began traveling west on foot, stopping to clear land and plant the apple seeds he always carried with him. (8) Settlers who followed John’s path were delighted to fin d young apple orchards dotting the landscape.(9) John was a friendly fellow who often stopped to visit with families along his way, entertaining them with stories of his travels. (10) Tales of his exploits followed him through Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. (11) Many of the stories were true. (12) For instance, John really did travel barefoot through the snow, lived on the friendliest of terms with Indian tribes, and refused to shoot any animal. (13) Other tales about John, however, were exaggerations. (14) Settlers said, for example, that he slept in the treetops and talked to the birds or that he had once been carried off by a giant eagle. (15) Johnny Appleseed never stopped traveling until his death in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1845.1) Sentence 1 is a statement of_______.A. factB. opinionC. fact and opinion2) The details in sentences 4 and 5 support the point or points in _______.A. sentence 1B. sentence 2C. sentence 3D. sentence 63) The relationship between sentences 3 and 6 is one of _______.A. contrastB. additionC. cause and effectD. comparison4) We can conclude that Johnny Appleseed _______.A. provided apples for numerous settlersB. was quickly forgotten by the settlersC. grew wealthy by selling his apple treesD. left home because of problems with his family5) The passage suggests that Johnny Appleseed _______.A. grew weary of travelingB. had great respect for other people and animalsC. lived a very short but rich lifeD. planted many trees other than apple trees6) The tone of the passage is _______.A. pessimisticB. bitter and impassionedC. amused and excitedD. straightforward with a touch of admiration7) Which is the most appropriate title for this selection?A. The Planting of American Apple OrchardsB. Folk Heroes of AmericaC. Settlers Recall Johnny AppleseedD. The Life and Legend of John Chapman5.Read the passage below. Then choose the best answer to each question that follows.(1) Television has transformed politics in the United States by changing the way in which information is disseminated, by altering political campaigns, and by changing citizens’ patterns of response to politics. (2) By giving citizens independent access to the candidates, television diminished the role of the political party in the selection of the major party candidates. (3) By centering politics on the person of the candidate, television accelerated the citizens’ focus on character rather than issues.(4)Television has altered the forms of political communication as well. (5) The messages on which most of us rely are briefer than they once were. (6) The stump speech, a political speech given by traveling politicians and lasting 11/2 to 2 hours, which characterized nineteenth-century political discourse, has given way to the 30-second advertisement and the 10-second “sound bite” in broadcast news. (7) Increasingly the audience for speeches is not that standing in front of the politician but rather the viewing audience who will hear and see a snippet of the speech on the news.(8) In these abbreviated forms, much of what constituted the traditional political discourse of earlier ages has been lost. (9) In 15 or 30 seconds, a speaker cannot establish the historical context that shaped the issue in question, cannot detail the probable causes of the problem, and cannot examine alternative proposals to argue that one is preferable to others. (10) In snippets, politicians assert but do not argue.(11) Because television is an intimate medium, speaking through it requires a changed political style that was more conversational, personal, and visual than that of the old-style stump speech. (12) Reliance on television means that increasingly our political world contains memorable pictures rather than memorable words. (13) Schools teach us to analyze words and print. (14) However, in a world in which politics is increasingly visual, informed citizenship requires a new set of skills.(15)Recognizing the power of television’s pictures, politicians craft televisual, staged events, calledpseudo-event, designed to attract media coverage. (16) Much of the political activity we see on television news has been crafted by politicians, their speechwriters, and their public relations advisers for televised consumption. (17) Sound bites in news and answers to questions in debates increasingly sound like advertisements.1) What is the main idea of the passage?A. Citizens in the United States are now more informed about political issuebecause of television coverage.B. Citizens in the United States prefer to see politicians on television instead ofin person.C. Politics in the United States has become substantially more controversialsince the introduction of television.D. Politics in the United States has been significantly changed by television.2) The word “disseminated” in sentence 1 is closest in meaning to_______.A. analyzedB. discussedC. spreadD. stored3) It can be inferred that before the introduction of television, political parties _______.A. had more influence over the selection of political candidatesB. spent more money to promote their political candidatesC. attracted more membersD. received more money4) The author mentions the “stump speech” in sentence 6 as an example of _______.A. an event created by politicians to attract media attentionB. an interactive discussion between two politiciansC. a kind of political presentation typical of the nineteenth centuryD. a style of speech common to televised political events5) The word “that” in sentence 7 refers to _______.A. audienceB. broadcast newsC. politicianD. advertisement6) According to the passage, as compared with televised speeches, traditional political discourse was more successful at _______.A. allowing news coverage of political candidatesB. placing political issues within a historical contextC. making politics seem more intimate to citizensD. p roviding detailed information about a candidate’s private behavior7) The author states that “politicians assert but do not argue” in sentence 9 in order to suggest that politicians _______.A. make claims without providing reasons for the claimsB. take stronger positions on issues than in the pastC. enjoy explaining the issue to broadcastersD. dislike having to explain their own positions on issues to citizens8) The purpose of paragraph 4 is to suggest that_______.A. politicians will need to learn to become more personal when meeting citizensB. politicians who are considered very attractive are favored by citizens over politicians who are less attractiveC. citizens tend to favor a politician who analyzed the issue over one who did notD.citizens will need to learn how to evaluate visual political images in order to become better informed9) Which of the following statements is supported by the passage?A. Political presentations today are more like advertisements than in the past.B.Politicians today tend to be more familiar with the views of citizens than in the past.C. Citizens today are less informed about a politician’s character than in the past.D. Political speeches today focus more on details about issues than in the past.Part IIIRead and QuestionIn this part, you will read about related or contradictory views on a variety of issues. You will be required to identify the writer’s position and evaluate the effectiveness of the writer’s arguments.Read the following two passages and answer the questions.Passage AWhile On the origin of Species created a great stir when it was published in 1859, Darwinian thought was almost completely out of vogue by the turn of the twentieth century. It took Ronald Fisher’s “Great Synthesis” of the 1920s, which combined the genetic work of Gregor Mendel with Darwin’s ideas about natural selection, and Theodosius Dobzhansky’s “Modern Synthesis” of the 1930s, w hich was built upon Fisher’s work with genetics within a species by focusing on how genetic variation could cause the origin of a new species, to begin to rehabilitate Darwin.Yet, what is remarkable is how very prescient Darwin, working without knowledge of the mechanisms of heredity, proved to be. As prominent biologist Ernst Mayr notes, what made Darwinian theory so remarkable was his emphasis on “population thinking”. This contrasts to Jean-Baptiste Lamarck’stheory of evolution, popular throughout the nineteenth century, which posited that individuals changed personal actions and will. Lamarckian theory is often exemplified by a giraffe constantly reaching up to eat leaves off high branches and passing on its lengthened neck to its children.Such expl anations bore a strong resemblance to children’s fables (and indeed Rudyard Kipling’s late-nineteenth-century Just So Stories was built upon Lamarckian theories). Where Darwin differed was his insistence that significant variation was not based within one particular individual, but rather in the breeding population as a whole. Natural selection was not based on the actions or goals of one individual, but variations in the average character of the species.Passage BAs Peter Bowler points out in his aptly named The Non-Darwinian Revolution: Reinterpreting a Historical Myth, nineteenth-century Darwinism was quite different from the Darwinism of today. Thomas Huxley, “Darwin’s Bulldog”, so called because of his tireless public campaigning for Darwinian thought, exemplifies this difference. As a result of his advocacy, by the end of the nineteenth century Huxley was the vehicle for Darwinian thought. Noted science fiction writer H. G. Wells, for instance, garnered all of his information about natural selection and evolution through Huxley’s lectures. Yet Huxley’s theory varied significantly from th at of Darwin, focusing on the will of humankind.In the preface to Evolution and Ethics, Huxley wrote that “We cannot do without our inheritance from the forefathers who were the puppets of the cosmic process; the society which renounces it must be destroyed from without. Still less can we do with too much of it; the society in which it dominates must be destroyed from within.” According to Huxley, humankind has moved past physical evolution to the realm of self-directed moral evolution. Huxley, then, acknowledges that humankind has evolved under the p ressure of natural selection and must remain aware of the fact or be “destroyed from without”, but he argues that a society that continues in the path that Nature has placed it will be “destroyed from within” because it will no longer be adapted to itself.1) Based on the information in the passage, Rudyard Kipling most likely wrote stories ______.A. dedicated to enlightening humans by using animals as positive examples of proper behaviorB. based on futuristic worlds which were populated by evolved subjectsC. featuring individuals developing variation through the power of their desiresD. seeking to exhibit the effects of population thinking in breeding populationsE. portraying the effects of parental inheritance through examining the lives of children2) Which of the following best represents Huxley’s beliefs?A. Focusing on physical evolution leaves man as nothing more than a “puppet” of forces beyond his control; to succeed in life it is necessary to reject physical evolution in favor of moral change.B. The ideas of Charles Darwin needed to be carefully delineated through lectures so that his ideas about individual variation could be fully understood.C. By exerting personal will, humankind will be able to enact significant, lasting variation which will be demonstrated through the bodies of the children of those who seek change.D.While humankind is inescapably linked to its physical past and the material conditions of its evolution, it must be wary of being too attached to the path dictated by natural selection.E. Certain elements of Darwin’s theory about evolution had to be discarded so that the public would be willing to accept the thrust of the theory as a whole.3) Which of the following would the authors of Passage A and Passage B mostly likely agree to be most closely aligned in their thinking?marck and Huxley.B. Kipling and Wells.C. Mayr and Bowler.D. Mendel and Huxley.E. Dobzhansky and Wells.4) Which of the following statements about Darwin is supported by both passages?A. Darwin differed significantly from other theorists of evolution because hefocused on breeding populations as a whole.B. The modern understanding of Darwin varies significantly from nineteenth-century beliefs about his theories.C. It was not until the early twentieth century that Darwinism as we know itbegan to emerge.D. Fiction writers were particularly interested in disseminating ideas aboutDarwin.E. Delineating the specific inheritance of the child is crucial to understandinghow natural selection proceeds.5) Which of the following best represents the difference between the two passages?A.The first passage begins with current understandings of Darwinism andmoves back in time, while the second passage begins with olderunderstanding and moves forward in time.B. While the first passage focuses on the difference between two theories ofevolution, the second paragraph traces differences between two individualinterpreters of evolution.C. The first passage introduces a general theory, offers specific evidence, andthen considers the ramifications of that theory, while the second passagedoes not consider the ramifications of the evidence it represents.D. The first passage is concerned with demonstrating a way in which Darwin isclosely linked with modern thinkers, while the second passage is focused onhow he differed from one of his contemporaries.E. The first passage provides a historical retrospective of the primaryinterpreters of Darwin, and the second passage centers on one particularinterpreter.6) Based on the information in Passage B, which of the following claims in Passage A would Thomas Huxley be most likely to object to?A. It is impossible to truly understand natural selection without the benefit ofmodern genetic theory.B. It is likely that the giraffe developed a long neck due to the fact that itconstantly stretched it to gain access to food.C. There are different ways to understand how evolution functions to changeindividuals.D. Variations in the average character of a population are the most crucialfactor in the proper evolution of man.E. Allowing natural selection to dominate our society will lead to thedestruction of humankind.7) Which of the following situations is most closely analogous to the Lamarckian mode of variation?A. An adult bird tries to change the environment for the benefit of its children.B. Seeking to morally adapt to its environment, a chimpanzee changes the wayit woos its mate.C. A giraffe’s bodily shape changes because it is unable to fit into the caves ittr aditionally sleeps in.D. Because of a change in the environment, a number of chimpanzees die outwhile others thrive and pass on their genes.E. Because it hunts for salmon with its mouth wide open, a bear graduallydevelops a straining mechanism between its teeth.Part IVRead and CreateIn this part, you will be required to write a short essay on a given topic based on your general reading. You should write with clarity, logic and creativity.1.Write an essay of about 200 words on one of the following topics.1) Hamlet is characterized by his melancholic mood and delay in action. Give a character analysis of Hamlet and list the possible reasons for his melancholy and delay.2) A Tale of Two Cities can be regarded as a historical novel, a moral novel and a novel strongly concerned with themes of resurrection, redemption and patriotism, as well as of guilt, shame and love. What is your understanding of the themes of the novel?2.Read the essay below. Answer one of the following questions by writing an essay of about 200 words.Of StudiesStudies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability. Their chief use for delight, is in privateness and retiring; for ornament, is in discourse; and for ability, is in the judgment and disposition of business. For expert men can execute, and perhaps judge of particulars, one by one; but the general counsels, and the plots and marshalling of affairs come best from those that are learned. To spend too much time in studies is sloth; to use them too much for ornament is affection; to make judgment wholly by their rulesis the humor of a scholar. They perfect nature and are perfected by experience: for natural abilities are like natural plants, that need pruning by study, and studies themselves do give forth directions too much at large, except they be bounded in by experience. Crafty men contemn studies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them, for they teach not their own use; but that is a wisdom without them and above them, won by observation. Read not to contradict and confuse; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be ready wholly, and with diligence and attention. Some books also may be read by deputy and extracts made of them by others; but that would be only in the less important arguments, and the meaner sort of books; else distilled books are, like common distilled waters, flashy things.Reading makes a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man. And therefore, if a man write little, he had need have a great memory; if he confer little, he had need have a present wit; and if he read little, he had need have much cunning to seem to know that he doth not. Histories make men wise; poets witty; the mathematics subtle; natural philosophy deep; moral grave; logic and rhetoric able to contend. Abeunt studia in mores. Nay there is no stond or impediment in the wit, but may be wrought out by fit studies: like as diseases of the body may have appropriate exercises. Bowling is good for the stone and reins; shooting for the lungs and breast; gentle walking for the stomach; riding for the head; and the like. So if a man’s wit be wandering, let him study the mathematics; for in demonstrations, if his wit be called away never so little, he must begin again. If his wit be not apt to distinguish or find differences, let him study the schoolmen; for they are cymini sectores. If he be not apt to beat over matters, and to call up one thing to prove and illustrate another, let him study the lawyers’ cases. So every defe ct of the mind may have a special receipt.1)We are now living in the age of “information explosion”. What lessons can we learn from Bacon’s “Of Studies” to access information”2)In what sense does reading make a full man?。

2016“外研社杯”全国英语阅读大赛样题Part I Read and KnowIn Part I, you will read short texts of various kinds. Read the instructions carefully and answer the questions. (Time allowed: 22 minutes)Questions 1-3 (Suggested completion time: 5 minutes)Directions: Read the following quotes. Match the quotes on the left with the people on the right. Please note there are two extra options you do not need to use.Questions 4 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.To ensure the high standards of facilities we need to build new wards, laboratories and consulting rooms. In short, we need your help now. Complete the coupon today and rest assured that your donation is going to the best possible cause.4. Where is the piece of text taken from?A. an advertisementB. an instruction bookletC. a storyD. a newspaperQuestions 5 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.Few corners of the world remain untainted by intrepid tourists, and their impact is often devastating. Too frequently they trample heedlessly on fragile environments, displacing wildlife and local populations in their insatiable quest for unexplored locations.5. What is the best title for this text?A. The future of tourismB. The role of tourismC. The price of tourismD. The benefits of tourismQuestions 6 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.Buying and selling anything is your forte now. If you visit a jumble or car-boot sale or the like, a romantic encounter is more than probable! News linked to the family is brilliant!6. What type of text is this?A. A personal advertisement.B. A personal horoscope.C. A friend’s letter of advice.D. A written warning.Questions 7 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.With our travel agency, the holiday you book is the holiday you get. If you arrive and find we’ve failed to live up to our promises, let us know what the problem is within one day of your arrival. We’ll spend 24 hours doing everything possible to sort the problem out. In the unlikely event that we can’t resolve your problem and make you happy within 24 hours, we’ll fly you home and give your money back.7. The text could best be described as __________.A. a commitmentB. an appealC. a warningD. a vowQuestions 8 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.The new digital cameras are great fun and very easy to use. They let you review your pictures the moment you take them, so you can re-shoot right away if you’re not satisfied. But remember, a digital camera is just a computer XXXX. It’s not a replacement for your ordinary camera.8. What is the meaning of the missing word (XXXX) in the text?A. “something that is poor quality”B. “an item that is not essential, something extra”C. “something expensive but good value for money”D. “a fashion which always remains popular”Questions 9 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.She had gone alone, but the children were to go to the station to meet her. And loving the station as they did, it was only natural that they should be there a good hour before there was any chance of Mother’s train arriving, even if the train were punctual, which was most unlikely.9. What can you say about their mother’s train?A. It would probably be early.B. It would probably be on time.C. It would probably be late.D. It had been cancelled.Question 10 (Suggested completion time: 5 minutes)Directions: The bar chart shows the number and proportion of undernourished people in the developing regions, from 1990¬1992 to 2014¬2016. Answer the question according to the information in the chart.Source: The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Report201510. Choose the INCORRECT description about the chart.A.Current estimates suggest that nearly one in nine individuals do not haveenough to eat between 2014 and 2016.B.Projections indicate that the 2015 MDG target is nearly reached, with 12.9per cent of undernourished population.C.The situation noticeably improved during the years 1995-1999, but went downin the first five years of the new millennium.D.The proportion of undernourished people in the developing regions has fallenby almost half since 1990.Part II Read and ReasonIn Part II, you will read short texts on different subjects. Read the instructions carefully and answer the questions based on logical inference and reasoning. (Time allowed: 38 minutes)Question 11-12 (Suggested completion time: 10 minutes)Directions: Read the definitions of two types of logical fallacy. Answer the questions according to the definitions.11. Which of the following provides a typical example of poisoning the well?A. That’s my stance on funding the education system, and anyone who disagreeswith me hates children.B. You are so weird. That means—we are pretty much sure—that your whole familyis weird, too.C. God exists because the Bible says so. The Bible is inspired. Therefore, weknow that God exists.D. I don’t care what you say. We don’t need any more bookshelves. As long asthe carpet is clean, we are fine.12. Which of the following provides a typical example of a false dilemma?A. Smoking is harmful to health, so you are supposed to quit smoking.B. If the government doesn’t reduce public spending, our economy will collapse.C. You may as well avoid overeating, or else you might be obese in no time.D. You are the worst of the classmates; therefore, what you say is incredible.Questions 13 (Suggested completion time: 4 minutes)Directions: Read the passage about syllogism. Decide whether the reasonings are Valid or Invalid based on the principles of syllogism.Syllogism is a kind of logical argument that applies deductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion based on two or more propositions that are asserted or assumed to be true. It is perhaps today’s most commonly accepted form of logical reasoning in aptitude tests. The most commonly used type of syllogisms is elucidated in a frequently used example:Premise 1: All men are mortal.Premise 2: Socrates is a man.Conclusion: Socrates is mortal.Now practice syllogisms for IQ tests. Please note that the conclusion is based on logical reasoning and doesn’t necessarily represent the “truth” always.13. Valid ( ); Invalid ( )Premise 1: All human action is conditioned by circumstances.Premise 2: All human action involves morality.Conclusion: All that involves morality is conditioned by circumstances.Questions 14 (Suggested completion time: 4 minutes)Directions: Read the passage about contraposition. Decide whether the reasonings are Valid or Invalid based on the principles of contraposition.In logic, contraposition is a law that says that a conditional statement is logically equivalent to its contrapositive. The contrapositive of the statement has its antecedent and consequent inverted and flipped. The most commonly used type of contraposition is elucidated in the following example: Premise 1: If it is raining, then there are clouds in the sky.Premise 2: There are no clouds in the sky.Conclusion: It is not raining.Now practice contraposition for IQ tests. Please note that the conclusion is based on logical reasoning and doesn’t necessarily represent the “truth” always.14. Valid ( ); Invalid ( )Premise 1: If he is not an American, he is not from Texas.Premise 2: He is from Texas.Conclusion: He is an American.Questions 15-17 (Suggested completion time: 6 minutes)Directions: Read the text about a science discovery. Answer the questions according to the text.Manipulating MemoryMemory is notoriously malleable. Our recollections fade andtake on new meanings; sometimes we remember things that nevereven happened. But 15 .Recently, however, scientists have started to grasp and tinker with memory’s physical basis. Last year, in work evocative of films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Inception, researchers discovered ways to manipulate specific memories in mice using optogenetics, a powerful technique that can trigger nerve cells in animals’ brains by zapping them with beams of laser light. In a series of experiments, they showed that they could delete existing memories and “incept”false ones.This year, researchers went even further: switching the emotional content of a memory in mice from bad to good and vice versa. Under the laser, for example, male mice that had once associated a certain room with being shocked were tricked into acting as though they had once met friendly female mice there instead.Whether the mice in these experiments actually experienced vivid false memories or just a fuzzy sense of pleasure or fear is unclear. Nor is it clear whether the findings apply to the tricks of memory so familiar to people. Long-sought therapeutic advances, such as treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder, could remain far off. One thing is certain, however: Once considered beyond scientific dissection, memory is finally starting to yield its secrets.15. Which of the following best fits the numbered space in the passage?A.what is really happening in our brain as memories are remodeled remainsmysteriousB.scientists are curious about why people are oblivious to what have happenedto themC.advanced technology has helped scientists discover the workings of our brainD.some scientists argue that what we observe about human memory is not whatit really is16. The word “incept” is closest in meaning to ________.A. operateB. startC. detectD. occupy17. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?A.People’s false memories result from the impact of different emotion provokedby later experience on the same spot.B.The success in research indicates that it won’t be long that a therapy isworked out for people disturbed by painful memory.C.By zapping the brain cells of mice with light, researchers are able to create,erase, or alter their memories, good or bad.D.Many fancy ideas in science fictions or movies that are based on them actuallydraw greatly upon scientific achievement.Questions 18-19 (Suggested completion time: 4 minutes)Directions: Read the following passage about cholera. Decide whether the statements are True or False according to the passage.A child receives the oral cholera vaccine ShancholCholera is caused by a bacterial infection of the intestine. Approximately one in 20 people infected with cholera has a serious case, with symptoms including severe diarrhea, vomiting, and leg cramps. These symptoms quickly cause dehydration and shock, and can result in death within hours if the infected person doesn’t receive treatment. Cholera is typically transmitted by contaminated food or water. In areas with poor treatment of sewage and drinking water, the feces of people with cholera can enter the water supply and spread quickly, resulting in an epidemic. The cholera bacterium may also live in the environment in some coastal waters, so shellfish eaten raw can be a source of cholera in affected areas.18. Cholera is known to be a life-threatening disease which easily causes death of most of the patients.True ( ) False ( )19. Cholera typically occurs in areas near the sea or the river where contaminated food is a major source of the disease.True ( ) False ( )Questions 20-21 (Suggested completion time: 5 minutes)Directions: Read the abstract of a research paper from the DeepMind website. Decide whether the statements are True or False according to the abstract.Teaching Machines to Read and ComprehendAuthors: K. M. Hermann, T. Kočiský, E. Grefenstette, L. Espeholt, W. Kay, M. Suleyman, P. BlunsomPublished: NIPS 2015Abstract: Teaching machines to read natural language documents remains an elusive challenge. Machine reading systems can be tested on their ability to answer questions posed on the contents of documents that they have seen, but until now large scale training and test datasets have been missing for this type of evaluation. In this work we define a new methodology that resolves this bottleneck and provides large scale supervised reading comprehension data. This allows us to develop a class of attention based deep neural networks that learn to read real documents and answer complex questions with minimal prior knowledge of language structure.20. Previous studies didn’t take constant effort to evaluate the reading ability of artificial intelligence machines, which was why the present research was conducted.True ( ) False ( )21. One implication of the research is that a methodology that helps gather and handle big data is indispensible to artificial intelligence related studies.True ( ) False ( )Questions 22-23 (Suggested completion time: 5 minutes)Directions: Read the passage about the “Think small” advertising campaign. Answer the questions according to the passage.Think SmallI f you’re interested in marketing and advertising,Volkswagen’s “Think small” campaign for the Beetlewhen it was first introduced to North America in 1959looms large as one of the greatest advertising campaignsof all time. It wasn’t just a revolution in automotiveadvertising; it changed the entire industry.Until the Beetle hit the market, automotive marketingcopy was full of bluster, and the images were flightsof fancy, emphasizing low, long lines and a fantasylifestyle.The clean, simple photography on a white background that emphasized the Beetle’s compact, practical form may seem commonplace these days, but it was a revolution in a world where Americans grew up obsessed with muscle cars, horsepower, and tire smoke. Making the car small, when the convention was to make it fill the page, was also novel. The simplistic approach to design and layout was totally contrary to the advertising conventions of the time.__ 22__ The text was minimalist in both look and content, presenting the facts simply instead of trying to weave tall tales and fantasies; and instead of bluster, it ushered in an intelligent sense of humor that made readers feel like they were in on the joke. The message was one of smart anti-luxury, and took gentle aim at an industry obsessed with superficiality and styling, rather than the substance underneath the car bodies.Not only does “Think small” continue to inspire Volkswagen advertising to this day, it ushered in a creative revolution in the advertising business and changed the world of marketing forever. “Think small” showed the power of humor and honesty, and its photographic and design principles brought about a major shift in the look and feel of marketing around the world.22. Which of the sentences below best fits the numbered space in the passage?A.What defined the ad even more than its visual style was the tone of its copy.B.This ad starts off doing the exact opposite of what you would expect in acar ad.C.This was an exercise in minimalism and a very accurate reflection on theproduct itself.D.The car wasn’t depicted as an integral piece of the daily lives of a middleclass family.23. It can be inferred that the advertising conventions of the 1950s were reflected in the following except that ___________.A.the ads in the 1950s typically showed proud owners and passengers evokinggreat joy about new shiny big acquisitions.B.the marketing concept then focused on providing as much information aspossible to the reader such as the way it’s created.C.the marketing schemes associated the advertised product with an idea or away of living from average consumers’ perspective.D.the marketing practice may attach importance to a sense of humor brought bythe use of exaggerated language.Part III Read and QuestionIn Part III, you will read passages on the same subject. You will be required to identify the writer’s position and evaluate the effectiveness of the writer’s arguments. (Time allowed: 30 minutes)Questions 24-35 (Suggested completion time: 30 minutes)Directions: Read three passages about fashion. Answer the questions according to the passages.Passage AIt’s not that easy to answer the question, “what is fashion?” because it means different things to different people. Fashion is an art. It’s a religion. It’s a job. It’s a peek into a personality. It’s playfulness. It’s an escape or a disguise. It is a feast for the eyes. But ultimately, 25 . French fashion designer Coco Chanel once said, “Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.”It’s true. Fashion isn’t defined solely by our clothing choices, but is also conveyed through the way we carry ourselves, our personalities and our views of the world. At its most fundamental, fashion is simply the prevailing style or custom, as in dress or behavior.So, who exactly answers the question “what is fashion”? Who decides what’s fashionable and what isn’t? What’s in or what’s out?Fashion Designers. The iconic fashion houses—Prada, Gucci, Chanel—are referred to as haute couture, French for “high sewing.” These designers lead the way in creating trend-setting fashion. While some of their designs are outrageous and completely unrealistic when it comes to everyday wear, generally the theme is adapted into versions suitable for wearing.Media. Fashion trends are often sparked by characters on popular television shows and movies as well as adopted from magazine pages. “Sex and the City,”“The Devil Wears Prada,” these shows introduced us to new, cutting-edge designs. While you might not be caught dead wearing a Carrie Bradshaw original, you might take ideas inspired from her look and piece together your own creation.Celebrities. A prime example of a celebrity-driven fashion trend? UGGs. Until Kate Hudson and Jessica Simpson were spotted wearing them around L.A. several years ago, no one had given any thought to UGG boots. Now they are everywhere.Musicians. Musicians have always been very influential when it comes to dictating fashion. Rock ‘n’ roll is fashion. Elvis is an iconic example. In the 1950s, everyone wanted to dress like Elvis. What about the heavy metal hair bands so popular in the 1980s? Axl Rose reinvented the head bandana while Poison, Motley Crue and Bon Jovi set the pace for big, rocker hair.Just because you don’t know if a Prada bag is fall 2007 or spring 2008 doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you like it and it’s an expression of you. That is fashion.Passage BFashion is more prevalent in modern society than in primitive tribes or peasant communities. The modern society is an open society where class distinctions are not so rigid as in primitive society. Its urban and mobile class structure enables people to cultivate individual taste and adopt new course. The modern society is more tolerant of differences and therefore places few shackles on the cycle of fashion. Our standards of judgment have also changed. Today the individual is rated more by observable externalities than by his ancestry, his character or his genuine accomplishments. The clothes a man wears, the language he speaks, the manners he shows have more weight in ascribing a status than his simplicity, patriotism and integrity.If he can keep himself up to date in the matters of his dress, speech and manners, he will assure himself a high social esteem. Not only the mobile and urban character of modern society but its affluence also speaks for greater prevalence of fashion in it. Men today are richer than their ancestors and have more leisure. They have the necessary means and time to play with luxuries and to think of fashion. Maclver writes: We do not think of fashion in overalls; there is more of fashion in the body of an automobile than in its chassis. There is no fashion in steam shovels. Consequently the higher the standard of living the more material there is for fashion to operate upon.Passage CAs summer has officially faded into the colder weather of autumn, I assumed the days of Nike shorts, comically large T-shirts and polos would be only a memory of yesterday. This has not been the case.Fashion, in and of itself, is already a type of conformism. In order to be considered fashion, a look, a garment or a stylistic choice must be deemed fashionable.Who gets to decide this—what is fashionable? While certain fashion heavyweights play a role in this decision, the ultimate decision is left to the public.As I was surfing the Web recently for inspiration for this column, I came across the Prada website. What I discovered literally caused me to gasp. Of course, everyone knows Prada is an expensive brand—a luxury—but what I discovered shocked me: a keychain priced at $180. No, this keychain was not solid gold or encased in diamonds. It was simply a keychain: a skull with the word “Prada” on a small charm.How can a company charge $180 for a keychain? The answer: people are willing to pay for it. People know the brand and conform to the idea of owning a piece of such an Italian “luxury.”This is nonsensical. Why do we choose to wear miniscule shorts in frigid weather or spend nearly $200 on a charm? Such decisions are influenced by peers, the media and the personal resolution to not make rational, individualistic choices. We cling to the idea of acceptance.In short, we often choose to abide by the pressures of social conventionality, and this leads us to make ridiculous selections—pairing Ugg boots with shorts or wearing neon with camouflage—which we would otherwise not make.I am certainly shamefaced in my occasional conformity to these ludicrous fashion folkways. I am guilty of donning Crocs in public. Yikes!Transient, often preposterous trends referred to as fads inspire some rather strange ideas. Who can recall the pet rocks of the ‘70s or Popples of the ‘80s? Such pop trends are not confined to behavior; they bleed into the fashion world, evidenced in overly distressed jeans, the most painful of neon shades, shoes that resemble Swiss cheese and a host of other fads I do not have the space to mention.I refuse to give up hope for societal common sense.One day we will comprehend that shorts are for the summer and ridiculously expensive keychains are for “never.”Do not allow others to dictate for you. Be bold. Be an individual. Do not buy the keychain.24. The phrase “might not be caught dead” in Passage A most probably means ______.A.would rather not die anywayB.might not be caught red handedC.would refuse completely to do somethingD.might be uneasy though doing something25. Which of the following best fits the numbered space in Passage A?A.fashion is an individual statement of expression for each of usB.fashion facilitates social change by providing a transitional stageC.fashion is not an individual choice but a group choiceD.fashion determines our speech, opinion, dress, music, art, etc.26. It can be inferred from Passage A that fashion designers, media, celebrities and musicians share the following views except ______.A.that fashion is anything but separated from the daily life of ordinarypeople.B.that nothing completely absurd and unrealistic can finally become fashion.C.that fashion is what society accepts and has an element of social sanctionbehind it.D.that if a particular choice remains confined to an individual it can’t becalled fashion.27. The word “affluence” in Passage B is closest in meaning to ______.A. versatilityB. wealthinessC. peculiarityD. charisma28. According to Passage B, which of the following attributes may probably be more important than others for an individual to be favorably received now?A. A wide range of erudition.B. Loyalty to his or her friends.C. A passion for popular novels.D. Good virtues such as honesty.29. Which of the following is NOT true about the author’s attitude towards fashion according to Passage C?A.The author thinks it a waste of time mentioning a list of examples ofirrational fads.B.People are mad about fashion and therefore lose their own good judgment.C.The author never allows himself to be carried away by the fashion trends.D.Behind the behavior of keeping up with fashion is a need to stay in the crowd.30-31. Decide whether the statements are True or False according to the three passages.30. All the three passages agree that fashion plays a role in the interplay of class relations that it satisfies the contrary desires for novelty and for conformity.True ( ) False ( )31. None of the three passages are denying conventional social values in people’s judgment, for example, what’s considered good about things or people.True ( ) False ( )Part IV Read and CreateIn Part IV, you will read a passage and then write a short essay according to it. You should write with clarity and logic. (Time allowed: 40 minutes)Question 32 (Suggested completion time: 40 minutes)Directions: Read a passage from Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason and Seeking the Truth in the Sciences. Write a short essay according to the passage.… And as a multitude of laws often only hampers justice, so that a state is best governed when, with few laws, these are rigidly administered; in like manner, instead of the great number of precepts of which logic is composed, I believed that the four following would prove perfectly sufficient for me, provided I took the firm and unwavering resolution never in a single instance to fail in observing them.The first was never to accept anything for true which I did not clearly know to be such; that is to say, carefully to avoid precipitancy and prejudice, and to comprise nothing more in my judgment than what was presented to my mind so clearly and distinctly as to exclude all ground of doubt.The second, to divide each of the difficulties under examination into as many parts as possible, and as might be necessary for its adequate solution.The third, to conduct my thoughts in such order that, by commencing with objects the simplest and easiest to know, I might ascend by little and little, and, as it were, step by step, to the knowledge of the more complex; assigning in thought a certain order even to those objects which in their own nature do not stand in a relation of antecedence and sequence.And the last, in every case to make enumerations so complete, and reviews so general, that I might be assured that nothing was omitted.The long chains of simple and easy reasonings by means of which geometers are accustomed to reach the conclusions of their most difficult demonstrations, had led me to imagine that all things, to the knowledge of which man is competent, are mutually connected in the same way, and that there is nothing so far removed from us as to be beyond our reach, or so hidden that we cannot discover it, provided only we abstain from accepting the false for the true, and always preserve in our thoughts the order necessary for the deduction of one truth from another. And I had little difficulty in determining the objects with which it was necessary to commence, for I was already persuaded that it must be with the simplest and easiest to know, and, considering that of all those who have hitherto sought truth in the sciences, the mathematicians alone have been able to find any demonstrations, that is, any certain and evident reasons, I did not doubt but that such must have been the rule of their investigations.。

2016阅读大赛样题Part I Read and KnowIn Part I,you will read short texts of various kinds. Read the instructions carefully and answer the questions. (Time allowed: 22 minutes)Questions 1-3 (Suggested completion time: 5 minutes)Directions: Read the following quotes. Match the quotes on the left with the people on the right. Please note there are two extra options you do not need to use.Questions 4 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.To ensure the high standards of facilities we need to build new wards, laboratories and consulting rooms. In short, we need your help now. Complete the coupon today and rest assured that your donation is going to the best possible cause.4. Where is the piece of text taken from?A. an advertisementB. an instruction bookletC. a storyD. a newspaperQuestions 5 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.Few corners of the world remain untainted by intrepid tourists, and their impact is often devastating. Too frequently they trample heedlessly on fragile environments, displacing wildlife and local populations in their insatiable quest for unexplored locations.5. What is the best title for this text?A. The future of tourismB. The role of tourismC. The price of tourismD. The benefits of tourismQuestions 6 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.Buying and selling anything is your forte now. If you visit a jumble or car-boot sale or the like, a romantic encounter is more than probable! News linked to the family is brilliant!6. What type of text is this?A. A personal advertisement.B. A personal horoscope.C. A friend’s letter of advice.D. A written warning.Questions 7 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.With our travel agency, the holiday you book is the holiday you get. If you arrive and find we’ve failed to live up to our promises, let us know what the problem is within one day of your arrival. We’ll spend 24 hours doing everything possible to sort the problem out. In the unlikely event that we can’t resolve your pr oblem and make you happy within 24 hours, we’ll fly you home and give your money back.7. The text could best be described as __________.A. a commitmentB. an appealC. a warningD. a vowQuestions 8 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.The new digital cameras are great fun and very easy to use. They let you review your pictures the moment you take them, so you can re-shoot right away if you’re not satisfied. But remember, a digital camera is just a computer XXXX. It’s not a replacement for your ordinary camera.8. What is the meaning of the missing word (XXXX) in the text?A. “something that is poor quality”B. “an item that is not essential, something extra”C. “something expensive but good value for money”D. “a fashion which always remains popular”Questions 9 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.She had gone alone, but the children were to go to the station to meet her. And loving the station as they did, it was only natural that they should be there a good hour before there was any chance of Mother’s train arriving, even if the train were punctual, which was most unlikely.9. What can you say ab out their mother’s train?A. It would probably be early.B. It would probably be on time.C. It would probably be late.D. It had been cancelled.Question 10 (Suggested completion time: 5 minutes)Directions: The bar chart shows the number and proportion of undernourished people in the developing regions, from 1990¬1992 to 2014¬2016. Answer the question according to the information in the chart.Source: The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Report201510. Choose the INCORRECT description about the chart.A. Current estimates suggest that nearly one in nine individuals do not have enough to eat between 2014 and2016.B. Projections indicate that the 2015 MDG target is nearly reached, with 12.9 per cent of undernourishedpopulation.C. The situation noticeably improved during the years 1995-1999, but went down in the first five years of thenew millennium.D. The proportion of undernourished people in the developing regions has fallen by almost half since 1990.Part II Read and ReasonIn Part II, you will read short texts on different subjects. Read the instructions carefully and answer the questions based on logical inference and reasoning. (Time allowed: 38 minutes)Question 11-12 (Suggested completion time: 10 minutes)Directions: Read the definitions of two types of logical fallacy. Answer the questions according to the definitions.11. Which of the following provides a typical example of poisoning the well?A. That’s my stance on funding the education system, and anyone who disagrees with me hates children.B. You are so weird. That means—we are pretty much sure—that your whole family is weird, too.C. God exists because the Bible says so. The Bible is inspired. Therefore, we know that God exists.D. I don’t care what you say. We don’t need any more bookshelves. As long as the carpet is clean, we are fine.12. Which of the following provides a typical example of a false dilemma?A. Smoking is harmful to health, so you are supposed to quit smoking.B. If the government doesn’t reduce public spending, our economy will collapse.C. You may as well avoid overeating, or else you might be obese in no time.D. You are the worst of the classmates; therefore, what you say is incredible.Questions 13 (Suggested completion time: 4 minutes)Directions: Read the passage about syllogism. Decide whether the reasonings are Valid or Invalid based on the principles of syllogism.Syllogism is a kind of logical argument that applies deductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion based on two or more propositions that are asserted or assumed to be true. It is perhaps today’s most commonly accepted form of logical reasoning in aptitude tests. The most commonly used type of syllogisms iselucidated in a frequently used example:Premise 1: All men are mortal.Premise 2: Socrates is a man.Conclusion: Socrates is mortal.Now practice syllogisms for IQ tests. Please note that the conclusion is based on logical reasoning and doesn’t necessarily represent the “truth” always.13. Valid ( ); Invalid ( )Premise 1: All human action is conditioned by circumstances.Premise 2: All human action involves morality.Conclusion: All that involves morality is conditioned by circumstances.Questions 14 (Suggested completion time: 4 minutes)Directions: Read the passage about contraposition. Decide whether the reasonings are Valid or Invalid based on the principles of contraposition.In logic, contraposition is a law that says that a conditional statement is logically equivalent toits contrapositive. The contrapositive of the statement has its antecedent andconsequent inverted and flipped. The most commonly used type of contraposition is elucidated in the following example:Premise 1: If it is raining, then there are clouds in the sky.Premise 2: There are no clouds in the sky.Conclusion: It is not raining.Now practice contraposition for IQ tests. Please note that the conclusion is based on logical reasoning and doesn’t necessarily represent the “truth” always.14. Valid ( ); Invalid ( )Premise 1: If he is not an American, he is not from Texas.Premise 2: He is from Texas.Conclusion: He is an American.Questions 15-17 (Suggested completion time: 6 minutes)Directions: Read the text about a science discovery. Answer the questions according to the text.Manipulating MemoryMemory is notoriously malleable. Our recollections fade and take on new meanings; sometimes we remember things that never even happened. But 15 .Recently, however, scientists have started to grasp and tinker with memory’s physical basis. Last year, in work evocative of films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Inception, researchers discovered ways to manipulate specific memories in mice using optogenetics, a powerful technique that can trigger nervecells in animals’ brains by zapping them with beams of laser light. In a series of experiments, they showed that they could delete existing memories and “incept” false ones.This year, researchers went even further: switching the emotional content of a memory in mice from bad to good and vice versa. Under the laser, for example, male mice that had once associated a certain room with being shocked were tricked into acting as though they had once met friendly female mice there instead.Whether the mice in these experiments actually experienced vivid false memories or just a fuzzy sense of pleasure or fear is unclear. Nor is it clear whether the findings apply to the tricks of memory so familiar to people. Long-sought therapeutic advances, such as treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder, could remain far off. One thing is certain, however: Once considered beyond scientific dissection, memory is finally starting to yield its secrets.15. Which of the following best fits the numbered space in the passage?A. what is really happening in our brain as memories are remodeled remains mysteriousB. scientists are curious about why people are oblivious to what have happened to themC. advanced technology has helped scientists discover the workings of our brainD. some scientists argue that what we observe about human memory is not what it really is16. The word “incept” is closest in meaning to ________.E. operateF. startG. detectH. occupy17. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?I. People’s false memories result from the impact of different emotion provoked by later experience on thesame spot.J. The success in research indicates that it won’t be long t hat a therapy is worked out for people disturbed by painful memory.K. By zapping the brain cells of mice with light, researchers are able to create, erase, or alter their memories, good or bad.L. Many fancy ideas in science fictions or movies that are based on them actually draw greatly upon scientific achievement.Questions 18-19 (Suggested completion time: 4 minutes)Directions: Read the following passage about cholera. Decide whether the statements are True or False according to the passage.A child receives the oral cholera vaccine ShancholCholera is caused by a bacterial infection of the intestine. Approximately one in 20 people infected with cholera has a serious case, with symptoms including severe diarrhea, vomiting, and leg cramps. These symptoms quickly cause dehydration and shock, and can result in death within hours if the infected person doesn’t receive treatment. Cholera is typically transmitted by contaminated food or water. In areas with poor treatment of sewage and drinking water, the feces of people with cholera can enter the water supply and spread quickly, resulting in an epidemic. The cholera bacterium may also live in the environment in some coastal waters, so shellfish eaten raw can be a source of cholera in affected areas.18. Cholera is known to be a life-threatening disease which easily causes death of most of the patients.True ( ) False ( )19. Cholera typically occurs in areas near the sea or the river where contaminated food is a major source of the disease.True ( ) False ( )Questions 20-21 (Suggested completion time: 5 minutes)Directions: Read the abstract of a research paper from the DeepMind website. Decide whether the statements are True or False according to the abstract.Teaching Machines to Read and ComprehendAuthors: K. M. Hermann, T. Kočiský, E. Grefens tette, L. Espeholt, W. Kay, M. Suleyman, P. Blunsom Published: NIPS 2015Abstract: Teaching machines to read natural language documents remains an elusive challenge. Machine reading systems can be tested on their ability to answer questions posed on the contents of documents that they have seen, but until now large scale training and test datasets have been missing for this type of evaluation. In this work we define a new methodology that resolves this bottleneck and provides large scale supervised reading comprehension data. This allows us to develop a class of attention based deep neural networks that learn to read real documents and answer complex questions with minimal prior knowledge of language structure.20. Previous studies didn’t take constant effor t to evaluate the reading ability of artificial intelligence machines, which was why the present research was conducted.True ( ) False ( )21. One implication of the research is that a methodology that helps gather and handle big data isindispensible to artificial intelligence related studies.True ( ) False ( )Questions 22-23 (Suggested completion time: 5 minutes)Directions: Read the passage about the “Think small” advertising campaign. Answer the questions according to the passage.Think SmallI f you’re interested in marketing and advertising, Volkswagen’s “Think small” campaign for the Beetle when itwas first introduced to North America in 1959 looms large as one of the greatest advertising campaigns of all time. It wasn’t just a revolution in automotive advertising; it changed the entire industry.Until the Beetle hit the market, automotive marketing copy was full of bluster, and the images were flights of fancy, emphasizing low, long lines and a fantasy lifestyle.The clean, simple photography on a white background that emphasized the Beetle’s compact, practical form may seem commonplace these days, but it was a revolution in a world where Americans grew up obsessed with muscle cars, horsepower, and tire smoke. Making the car small, when the convention was to make it fill the page, was also novel. The simplistic approach to design and layout was totally contrary to the advertising conventions of the time.__ 22__ The text was minimalist in both look and content, presenting the facts simply instead of trying to weave tall tales and fantasies; and instead of bluster, it ushered in an intelligent sense of humor that made readers feel like they were in on the joke. The message was one of smart anti-luxury, and took gentle aim at an industry obsessed with superficiality and styling, rather than the substance underneath the car bodies.Not only does “Think small” continue to inspire Volkswagen advertising to this day, it ushered in a creative revolution in the advertising b usiness and changed the world of marketing forever. “Think small” showed the power of humor and honesty, and its photographic and design principles brought about a major shift in the look and feel of marketing around the world.22. Which of the sentences below best fits the numbered space in the passage?A. What defined the ad even more than its visual style was the tone of its copy.B. This ad starts off doing the exact opposite of what you would expect in a car ad.C. This was an exercise in minimalism and a very accurate reflection on the product itself.D. The car wasn’t depicted as an integral piece of the daily lives of a middle class family.23. It can be inferred that the advertising conventions of the 1950s were reflected in the following exceptthat___________.A. the ads in the 1950s typically showed proud owners and passengers evoking great joy about new shiny bigacquisitions.B. the marketing concept then focused on providing as much information as possible to the reader such asthe way it’s created.C. the marketing schemes associated the advertised product with an idea or a way of living from averageconsumers’ perspective.D. the marketing practice may attach importance to a sense of humor brought by the use of exaggeratedlanguage.Part III Read and QuestionIn Part III,you will read passages on the same subject.You will be required to identify the writer’s position and evaluate the effectiveness of the writer’s arguments.(Time allowed: 30 minutes)Questions 24-35 (Suggested completion time: 30 minutes)Directions: Read three passages about fashion. Answer the questions according to the passages.Passage AIt’s not that easy to answer the question, “what is fashion?” because it means different thi ngs to different people. Fashion is an art. It’s a religion. It’s a job. It’s a peek into a personality. It’s playfulness. It’s an escape or a disguise. It is a feast for the eyes. But ultimately, 25 . French fashion designer Coco Chanel once said, “Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.”It’s true. Fashion isn’t defined solely by our clothing choices, but is also conveyed through the way we carry ourselves, our personalities and our views of the world. At its most fundamental, fashion is simply the prevailing style or custom, as in dress or behavior.So, who exactly answers the question “what is fashion”? Who decides what’s fashionable and what isn’t?What’s in or what’s out?Fashion Designers. The iconic fashion houses—Prada, Gucci, Chanel—are referred to as haute couture, French for “high sewing.” These designers lead the way in creating trend-setting fashion. While some of their designs are outrageous and completely unrealistic when it comes to everyday wear, generally the theme is adapted into versions suitable for wearing.Media. Fashion trends are often sparked by characters on popular television shows and movies as well as adopted from magazine pages. “Sex and the City,” “The Devil Wears Prada,” these shows introduced us to new, cutting-edge designs. While you might not be caught dead wearing a Carrie Bradshaw original, you might take ideas inspired from her look and piece together your own creation.Celebrities. A prime example of a celebrity-driven fashion trend? UGGs. Until Kate Hudson and Jessica Simpson were spotted wearing them around L.A. several years ago, no one had given any thought to UGG boots. Now they are everywhere.Musicians. Musicians have always been very influential when it comes to dictating fashion. Rock ‘n’ roll is fashion. Elvis is an iconic example. In the 1950s, everyone wanted to dress like Elvis. What about the heavy metal hair bands so popular in the 1980s? Axl Rose reinvented the head bandana while Poison, Motley Crue and Bon Jovi set the pace for big, rocker hair.Just because you don’t know if a Prada bag is fall 2007 or spring 2008 doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you like it and it’s an expression of you. That is fashion.Passage BFashion is more prevalent in modern society than in primitive tribes or peasant communities. The modern society is an open society where class distinctions are not so rigid as in primitive society. Its urban and mobile class structure enables people to cultivate individual taste and adopt new course. The modern society is more tolerant of differences and therefore places few shackles on the cycle of fashion. Our standards of judgment have also changed. Today the individual is rated more by observable externalities than by his ancestry, his character or his genuine accomplishments. The clothes a man wears, the language he speaks, the manners he shows have more weight in ascribing a status than his simplicity, patriotism and integrity.If he can keep himself up to date in the matters of his dress, speech and manners, he will assure himself a high social esteem. Not only the mobile and urban character of modern society but its affluence also speaks for greater prevalence of fashion in it. Men today are richer than their ancestors and have more leisure. They have the necessary means and time to play with luxuries and to think of fashion. Maclver writes: We do not think of fashion in overalls; there is more of fashion in the body of an automobile than in its chassis. There is no fashion in steam shovels. Consequently the higher the standard of living the more material there is for fashion to operate upon.Passage CAs summer has officially faded into the colder weather of autumn, I assumed the days of Nike shorts, comically large T-shirts and polos would be only a memory of yesterday. This has not been the case. Fashion, in and of itself, is already a type of conformism. In order to be considered fashion, a look, a garment or a stylistic choice must be deemed fashionable.Who gets to decide this—what is fashionable? While certain fashion heavyweights play a role in this decision, the ultimate decision is left to the public.As I was surfing the Web recently for inspiration for this column, I came across the Prada website. What I discovered literally caused me to gasp. Of course, everyone knows Prada is an expensive brand—a luxury—but what I discovered shocked me: a keychain priced at $180. No, this keychain was not solid gold or encased in diamonds. It was simply a keychain: a skull with the word “Prada” on a small charm.How can a company charge $180 for a keychain? The answer: people are willing to pay for it. People know the brand and conform to the idea of owning a piece of such an Italian “luxury.”This is nonsensical. Why do we choose to wear miniscule shorts in frigid weather or spend nearly $200 on a charm? Such decisions are influenced by peers, the media and the personal resolution to not make rational, individualistic choices. We cling to the idea of acceptance.In short, we often choose to abide by the pressures of social conventionality, and this leads us to make ridiculous selections—pairing Ugg boots with shorts or wearing neon with camouflage—which we would otherwise not make.I am certainly shamefaced in my occasional conformity to these ludicrous fashion folkways. I am guilty ofdonning Crocs in public. Yikes!Transient, often preposterous trends referred to as fads inspire some rather strange ideas. Who can recall the pet rocks of the ‘70s or Popples of the ‘80s? Such pop trends are not confined to behavior; they bleed into the fashion world, evidenced in overly distressed jeans, the most painful of neon shades, shoes that resemble Swiss cheese and a host of other fads I do not have the space to mention.I refuse to give up hope for societal common sense.One day we will comprehend that shorts are for the summer and ridiculously expensive keychains are for “never.” Do not allow others to dictate for you. Be bold. Be an individual. Do not buy the keychain.24. The phrase “might not be caught dead” in Passage A most probably means ______.A. would rather not die anywayB. might not be caught red handedC. would refuse completely to do somethingD. might be uneasy though doing something25. Which of the following best fits the numbered space in Passage A?A. fashion is an individual statement of expression for each of usB. fashion facilitates social change by providing a transitional stageC. fashion is not an individual choice but a group choiceD. fashion determines our speech, opinion, dress, music, art, etc.26. It can be inferred from Passage A that fashion designers, media, celebrities and musicians share thefollowing views except ______.A. that fashion is anything but separated from the daily life of ordinary people.B. that nothing completely absurd and unrealistic can finally become fashion.C. that fashion is what society accepts and has an element of social sanction behind it.D. that if a particular choice remains confined to an individual it can’t be called fashion.27. The word “affluence” in Passage B is closest in meaning to ______.A. versatilityB. wealthinessC. peculiarityD. charisma28. According to Passage B, which of the following attributes may probably be more important than others foran individual to be favorably received now?A. A wide range of erudition.B. Loyalty to his or her friends.C. A passion for popular novels.D. Good virtues such as honesty.29. Which of the following is NOT true about the author’s attitude towards fash ion according to Passage C?A. The author thinks it a waste of time mentioning a list of examples of irrational fads.B. People are mad about fashion and therefore lose their own good judgment.C. The author never allows himself to be carried away by the fashion trends.D. Behind the behavior of keeping up with fashion is a need to stay in the crowd.30-31. Decide whether the statements are True or False according to the three passages.30. All the three passages agree that fashion plays a role in the interplay of class relations that it satisfies thecontrary desires for novelty and for conformity.True ( ) False ( )31. None of the three passages are denying conventional social values in people’s judgment, for ex ample,what’s considered good about things or people.True ( ) False ( )Part IV Read and CreateIn Part IV, you will read a passage and then write a short essay according to it. You should write with clarity and logic. (Time allowed: 40 minutes)Question 32 (Suggested completion time: 40 minutes)Directions: Read a passage from Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason and Seeking the Truth in the Sciences. Write a short essay according to the passage.… And as a multitude of laws often only hampers justice, so that a state is best governed when, with few laws, these are rigidly administered; in like manner, instead of the great number of precepts of which logic iscomposed, I believed that the four following would prove perfectly sufficient for me, provided I took the firm and unwavering resolution never in a single instance to fail in observing them.The first was never to accept anything for true which I did not clearly know to be such; that is to say, carefully to avoid precipitancy and prejudice, and to comprise nothing more in my judgment than what was presented to my mind so clearly and distinctly as to exclude all ground of doubt.The second, to divide each of the difficulties under examination into as many parts as possible, and as might be necessary for its adequate solution.The third, to conduct my thoughts in such order that, by commencing with objects the simplest and easiest to know, I might ascend by little and little, and, as it were, step by step, to the knowledge of the more complex; assigning in thought a certain order even to those objects which in their own nature do not stand in a relation of antecedence and sequence.And the last, in every case to make enumerations so complete, and reviews so general, that I might be assured that nothing was omitted.The long chains of simple and easy reasonings by means of which geometers are accustomed to reach the conclusions of their most difficult demonstrations, had led me to imagine that all things, to the knowledge of which man is competent, are mutually connected in the same way, and that there is nothing so far removed from us as to be beyond our reach, or so hidden that we cannot discover it, provided only we abstain from accepting the false for the true, and always preserve in our thoughts the order necessary for the deduction of one truth from another. And I had little difficulty in determining the objects with which it was necessary to commence, for I was already persuaded that it must be with the simplest and easiest to know, and, considering that of all those who have hitherto sought truth in the sciences, the mathematicians alone have been able to find any demonstrations, that is, any certain and evident reasons, I did not doubt but that such must have been the rule of their investigations.32. Answer the topic questions with no less than 300 words. You should write in YOUR OWN words:What is the main issue that Descartes explores in this part of the text, and what’s his method? What’s your OWN understanding of the methods proposed by Descartes?。

2016“外研社杯”全国英语阅读大赛样题Part I Read and KnowIn Part I, you will read short texts of various kinds. Read the instructions carefully and answer the questions. (Time allowed: 22 minutes)Questions 1-3 (Suggested completion time: 5 minutes)Directions: Read the following quotes. Match the quotes on the left with the people on the right. Please note there are two extra options you do not need to use.Questions 4 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.To ensure the high standards of facilities we need to build new wards, laboratories and consulting rooms. In short, we need your help now. Complete the coupon today and rest assured that your donation is going to the best possible cause.4. Where is the piece of text taken from?A. an advertisementB. an instruction bookletC. a storyD. a newspaperQuestions 5 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.Few corners of the world remain untainted by intrepid tourists, and their impact is often devastating. Too frequently they trample heedlessly on fragile environments, displacing wildlife and local populations in their insatiable quest for unexplored locations.5. What is the best title for this text?A. The future of tourismB. The role of tourismC. The price of tourismD. The benefits of tourismQuestions 6 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.Buying and selling anything is your forte now. If you visit a jumble or car-boot sale or the like, a romantic encounter is more than probable! News linked to the family is brilliant!6. What type of text is this?A. A personal advertisement.B. A personal horoscope.C. A friend’s letter of advice.D. A written warning.Questions 7 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.With our travel agency, the holiday you book is the holiday you get. If you arrive and find we’ve failed to live up to our promises, let us know what the problem is within one day of your arrival. We’ll spend 24 hours doing everything possible to sort the problem out. In the unlikely event that we can’t resolve your problem and make you happy within 24 hours, we’ll fly you home and give your money back.7. The text could best be described as __________.A. a commitmentB. an appealC. a warningD. a vowQuestions 8 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.The new digital cameras are great fun and very easy to use. They let you review your pictures the moment you take them, so you can re-shoot right away if you’re not satisfied. But remember, a digital camera is just a computer XXXX. It’s not a replacement for your ordinary camera.8. What is the meaning of the missing word (XXXX) in the text?A. “something that is poor quality”B. “an item that is not essential, something extra”C. “something expensive but good value for money”D. “a fashion which always remains popular”Questions 9 (Suggested completion time: 2 minutes)Directions: Read the text, and answer the question according to the text.She had gone alone, but the children were to go to the station to meet her. And loving the station as they did, it was only natural that they should be there a good hour before there was any chance of Mother’s train arriving, even if the train were punctual, which was most unlikely.9. What can you say about their mother’s train?A. It would probably be early.B. It would probably be on time.C. It would probably be late.D. It had been cancelled.Question 10 (Suggested completion time: 5 minutes)Directions: The bar chart shows the number and proportion of undernourished people in the developing regions, from 1990¬1992 to 2014¬2016. Answer the question according to the information in the chart.Source: The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Report201510. Choose the INCORRECT description about the chart.A.Current estimates suggest that nearly one in nine individuals do not have enough to eatbetween 2014 and 2016.B.Projections indicate that the 2015 MDG target is nearly reached, with 12.9 per cent ofundernourished population.C.The situation noticeably improved during the years 1995-1999, but went down in thefirst five years of the new millennium.D.The proportion of undernourished people in the developing regions has fallen by almosthalf since 1990.Part II Read and ReasonIn Part II, you will read short texts on different subjects. Read the instructions carefully and answer the questions based on logical inference and reasoning. (Time allowed: 38 minutes)Question 11-12 (Suggested completion time: 10 minutes)Directions: Read the definitions of two types of logical fallacy. Answer the questions according to the definitions.11. Which of the following provides a typical example of poisoning the well?A. That’s my stance on funding the education system, and anyone who disagrees with mehates children.B. You are so weird. That means—we are pretty much sure—that your whole family is weird,too.C. God exists because the Bible says so. The Bible is inspired. Therefore, we know that Godexists.D. I don’t care what you say. We don’t need any more bookshelves. As long as the carpet isclean, we are fine.12. Which of the following provides a typical example of a false dilemma?A. Smoking is harmful to health, so you are supposed to quit smoking.B. If the government doesn’t reduce public spending, our economy will collapse.C. You may as well avoid overeating, or else you might be obese in no time.D. You are the worst of the classmates; therefore, what you say is incredible.Questions 13 (Suggested completion time: 4 minutes)Directions: Read the passage about syllogism. Decide whether the reasonings are Valid or Invalid based on the principles of syllogism.Syllogism is a kind of logical argument that applies deductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion based on two or more propositions that are asserted or assumed to be true. It is perhaps today’s most commonly accepted form of logical reasoning in aptitude tests. The most commonly used type of syllogisms is elucidated in a frequently used example:Premise 1: All men are mortal.Premise 2: Socrates is a man.Conclusion: Socrates is mortal.Now practice syllogisms for IQ tests. Please note that the conclusion is based on logical reasoning and doesn’t necessarily represent the “truth” always.13. Valid ( ); Invalid ( )Premise 1: All human action is conditioned by circumstances.Premise 2: All human action involves morality.Conclusion: All that involves morality is conditioned by circumstances.Questions 14 (Suggested completion time: 4 minutes)Directions: Read the passage about contraposition. Decide whether the reasonings are Valid or Invalid based on the principles of contraposition.In logic, contraposition is a law that says that a conditional statement is logically equivalent to its contrapositive. The contrapositive of the statement has its antecedent and consequent inverted and flipped. The most commonly used type of contraposition is elucidated in the following example:Premise 1: If it is raining, then there are clouds in the sky.Premise 2: There are no clouds in the sky.Conclusion: It is not raining.Now practice contraposition for IQ tests. Please note that the conclusion is based on logical reasoning and doesn’t necessarily represent the “truth” always.14. Valid ( ); Invalid ( )Premise 1: If he is not an American, he is not from Texas.Premise 2: He is from Texas.Conclusion: He is an American.Questions 15-17 (Suggested completion time: 6 minutes)Directions: Read the text about a science discovery. Answer the questions according to the text.Manipulating MemoryMemory is notoriously malleable. Our recollections fade and take onnew meanings; sometimes we remember things that never evenhappened. But 15 .Recently, however, scientists have started to grasp and tinker withmemory’s physical basis. Last year, i n work evocative of films suchas Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Inception, researchers discovered ways to manipulate specific memories in mice using optogenetics, a powerful technique that can trigger nerve cells in animals’ brains by zapping t hem with beams of laser light. In a series of experiments, they showed that they could delete existing memories and “incept” false ones.This year, researchers went even further: switching the emotional content of a memory in mice from bad to good and vice versa. Under the laser, for example, male mice that had once associated a certain room with being shocked were tricked into acting as though they had once met friendly female mice there instead.Whether the mice in these experiments actually experienced vivid false memories or just a fuzzy sense of pleasure or fear is unclear. Nor is it clear whether the findings apply to the tricks of memory so familiar to people. Long-sought therapeutic advances, such as treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder, could remain far off. One thing is certain, however: Once considered beyond scientific dissection, memory is finally starting to yield its secrets.15. Which of the following best fits the numbered space in the passage?A.what is really happening in our brain as memories are remodeled remains mysteriousB.scientists are curious about why people are oblivious to what have happened to themC.advanced technology has helped scientists discover the workings of our brainD.some scientists argue that what we observe about human memory is not what it really is16. The word “incept” is closest in meaning to ________.A. operateB. startC. detectD. occupy17. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?A.People’s false memories result from the impact of different emotion provoked by laterexperience on the same spot.B.The success in research indicates that it won’t be long that a therapy is worked out forpeople disturbed by painful memory.C.By zapping the brain cells of mice with light, researchers are able to create, erase, oralter their memories, good or bad.D.Many fancy ideas in science fictions or movies that are based on them actually drawgreatly upon scientific achievement.Questions 18-19 (Suggested completion time: 4 minutes)Directions: Read the following passage about cholera. Decide whether the statements are True or False according to the passage.A child receives the oral cholera vaccine ShancholCholera is caused by a bacterial infection of the intestine. Approximately one in 20 people infected with cholera has a serious case, with symptoms including severe diarrhea, vomiting, and leg cramps. These symptoms quickly cause dehydration and shock, and can result in death within hours i f the infected person doesn’t receive treatment. Cholera is typically transmitted by contaminated food or water. In areas with poor treatment of sewage and drinking water, the feces of people with cholera can enter the water supply and spread quickly, resulting in an epidemic. The cholera bacterium may also live in the environment in some coastal waters, so shellfish eaten raw can be a source of cholera in affected areas.18. Cholera is known to be a life-threatening disease which easily causes death of most of the patients.True ( ) False ( )19. Cholera typically occurs in areas near the sea or the river where contaminated food is a major source of the disease.True ( ) False ( )Questions 20-21 (Suggested completion time: 5 minutes)Directions: Read the abstract of a research paper from the DeepMind website. Decide whether the statements are True or False according to the abstract.Teaching Machines to Read and ComprehendAuthors: K. M. Hermann, T. Kočiský, E. Grefenstette, L. Espeholt, W. Kay, M. Suleyman, P. Blunsom Published: NIPS 2015Abstract: Teaching machines to read natural language documents remains an elusive challenge. Machine reading systems can be tested on their ability to answer questions posed on the contents of documents that they have seen, but until now large scale training and test datasets have been missing for this type of evaluation. In this work we define a new methodology that resolves this bottleneck and provides large scale supervised reading comprehension data. This allows us to develop a class of attention based deep neural networks that learn to read real documents and answer complex questions with minimal prior knowledge of language structure.20. Previous studies didn’t take constant effort to evaluate the reading ability of artificial intelligence machines, which was why the present research was conducted.True ( ) False ( )21. One implication of the research is that a methodology that helps gather and handle big data is indispensible to artificial intelligence related studies.True ( ) False ( )Questions 22-23 (Suggested completion time: 5 minutes)Directions: Read the passage about the “Think small” advertising campaign. Answer the questions according to the passage.Think SmallI f you’re interested in marketing and advertising, Volkswagen’s“Think small” campaign for the Beetle when it was firstintroduced to North America in 1959 looms large as one of thegreatest advertising campaigns of all time. It wasn’t just arevolution in automotive advertising; it changed the entireindustry.Until the Beetle hit the market, automotive marketing copy wasfull of bluster, and the images were flights of fancy, emphasizinglow, long lines and a fantasy lifestyle.The clean, simple photography on a white background that emphasized the Beetle’s compact, practical form may seem commonplace these days, but it was a revolution in a world where Americans grew up obsessed with muscle cars, horsepower, and tire smoke. Making the car small, when the convention was to make it fill the page, was also novel. The simplistic approach to design and layout was totally contrary to the advertising conventions of the time.__ 22__ The text was minimalist in both look and content, presenting the facts simply instead of trying to weave tall tales and fantasies; and instead of bluster, it ushered in an intelligent sense of humor that made readers feel like they were in on the joke. The message was one of smart anti-luxury, and took gentle aim at an industry obsessed with superficiality and styling, rather than the substance underneath the car bodies.Not only does “Think small” continue to inspire Volkswagen advertising to this day, it ushered in a creative revolution in the advertising business and changed the world of marketing forever. “Think small” showed the power of humor and hon esty, and its photographic and design principles brought about a major shift in the look and feel of marketing around the world.22. Which of the sentences below best fits the numbered space in the passage?A.What defined the ad even more than its visual style was the tone of its copy.B.This ad starts off doing the exact opposite of what you would expect in a car ad.C.This was an exercise in minimalism and a very accurate reflection on the product itself.D.The car wasn’t depicted as an integral piece of the d aily lives of a middle class family.23. It can be inferred that the advertising conventions of the 1950s were reflected in the following except that ___________.A.the ads in the 1950s typically showed proud owners and passengers evoking great joyabout new shiny big acquisitions.B.the marketing concept then focused on providing as much information as possible to thereader such as the way it’s created.C.the marketing schemes associated the advertised product with an idea or a way of livingfrom average consum ers’ perspective.D.the marketing practice may attach importance to a sense of humor brought by the use ofexaggerated language.Part III Read and QuestionIn Part III, you will read passages on the same subject. You will be required to identify the writer’s position and evaluate the effectiveness of the writer’s arguments. (Time allowed: 30 minutes)Questions 24-35 (Suggested completion time: 30 minutes)Directions: Read three passages about fashion. Answer the questions according to the passages.Passage AIt’s not that easy to answer the question, “what is fashion?” because it means different things to different people. Fashion is an art. It’s a religion. It’s a job. It’s a peek into a personality. It’s playfulness. It’s an escape or a disguise. It is a feast for the eyes. But ultimately,25 . French fashion designer Coco Chanel once said, “Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.”It’s true. Fashion isn’t defined solely by our clothing choices, but is also conveyed through the way we carry ourselves, our personalities and our views of the world. At its most fundamental, fashion is simply the prevailing style or custom, as in dress or behavior.So, who exactly answers the question “what is fashion”? Who decides what’s fashionable and what isn’t? What’s in or what’s out?Fashion Designers. The iconic fashion houses—Prada, Gucci, Chanel—are referred to as haute couture, French for “high sewing.” These designers lead the way in creating trend-setting fashion. While some of their designs are outrageous and completely unrealistic when it comes to everyday wear, generally the theme is adapted into versions suitable for wearing.Media. Fashion trends are often sparked by characters on popular television shows and movies as well as adopted from magazine pages. “Sex and the City,” “The Devil Wears Prada,” these shows introduced us to new, cutting-edge designs. While you might not be caught dead wearing a Carrie Bradshaw original, you might take ideas inspired from her look and piece together your own creation.Celebrities. A prime example of a celebrity-driven fashion trend? UGGs. Until Kate Hudson and Jessica Simpson were spotted wearing them around L.A. several years ago, no one had given any thought to UGG boots. Now they are everywhere.Musicians. Musicians have always been very influential when it comes to dictating fashion. Rock ‘n’ r oll is fashion. Elvis is an iconic example. In the 1950s, everyone wanted to dress like Elvis.What about the heavy metal hair bands so popular in the 1980s? Axl Rose reinvented the head bandana while Poison, Motley Crue and Bon Jovi set the pace for big, rocker hair.Just because you don’t know if a Prada bag is fall 2007 or spring 2008 doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you like it and it’s an expression of you. That is fashion.Passage BFashion is more prevalent in modern society than in primitive tribes or peasant communities. The modern society is an open society where class distinctions are not so rigid as in primitive society. Its urban and mobile class structure enables people to cultivate individual taste and adopt new course. The modern society is more tolerant of differences and therefore places few shackles on the cycle of fashion. Our standards of judgment have also changed. Today the individual is rated more by observable externalities than by his ancestry, his character or his genuine accomplishments. The clothes a man wears, the language he speaks, the manners he shows have more weight in ascribing a status than his simplicity, patriotism and integrity.If he can keep himself up to date in the matters of his dress, speech and manners, he will assure himself a high social esteem. Not only the mobile and urban character of modern society but its affluence also speaks for greater prevalence of fashion in it. Men today are richer than their ancestors and have more leisure. They have the necessary means and time to play with luxuries and to think of fashion. Maclver writes: We do not think of fashion in overalls; there is more of fashion in the body of an automobile than in its chassis. There is no fashion in steam shovels. Consequently the higher the standard of living the more material there is for fashion to operate upon.Passage CAs summer has officially faded into the colder weather of autumn, I assumed the days of Nike shorts, comically large T-shirts and polos would be only a memory of yesterday. This has not been the case.Fashion, in and of itself, is already a type of conformism. In order to be considered fashion, a look, a garment or a stylistic choice must be deemed fashionable.Who gets to decide this—what is fashionable? While certain fashion heavyweights play a role in this decision, the ultimate decision is left to the public.As I was surfing the Web recently for inspiration for this column, I came across the Prada website. What I discovered literally caused me to gasp. Of course, everyone knows Prada is an expensive brand—a luxury—but what I discovered shocked me: a keychain priced at $180. No, this keychain was not solid gold or encased in diamonds. It was simply a keychain: a skull with the word “Prada” on a small charm.How can a company charge $180 for a keychain? The answer: people are willing to pay for it. People know the brand and conform to the idea of owning a piece of such an Italian “luxury.”This is nonsensical. Why do we choose to wear miniscule shorts in frigid weather or spend nearly $200 on a charm? Such decisions are influenced by peers, the media and the personal resolution to not make rational, individualistic choices. We cling to the idea of acceptance.In short, we often choose to abide by the pressures of social conventionality, and this leads us to make ridiculous selections—pairing Ugg boots with shorts or wearing neon with camouflage—which we would otherwise not make.I am certainly shamefaced in my occasional conformity to these ludicrous fashion folkways. I am guilty of donning Crocs in public. Yikes!Transient, often preposterous trends referred to as fads inspire some rather strange ideas. Who can recall the pet rocks of the ‘70s or Popples of the ‘80s? Such pop trends are not confined to behavior; they bleed into the fashion world, evidenced in overly distressed jeans, the most painful of neon shades, shoes that resemble Swiss cheese and a host of other fads I do not have the space to mention.I refuse to give up hope for societal common sense.One day we will comprehend that shorts are for the summer and ridiculously expensive keychains are for “never.” Do not allow others to dictate for you. Be bold. Be an individual. Do not buy the keychain.24. The phrase “might not be caught dead” in Passage A most probably means ______.A.would rather not die anywayB.might not be caught red handedC.would refuse completely to do somethingD.might be uneasy though doing something25. Which of the following best fits the numbered space in Passage A?A.fashion is an individual statement of expression for each of usB.fashion facilitates social change by providing a transitional stageC.fashion is not an individual choice but a group choiceD.fashion determines our speech, opinion, dress, music, art, etc.26. It can be inferred from Passage A that fashion designers, media, celebrities and musicians share the following views except ______.A.that fashion is anything but separated from the daily life of ordinary people.B.that nothing completely absurd and unrealistic can finally become fashion.C.that fashion is what society accepts and has an element of social sanction behind it.D.that if a particular choice remains confined to an individual it can’t be called fashion.27. The word “affluence” in Passage B is closest in me aning to ______.A. versatilityB. wealthinessC. peculiarityD. charisma28. According to Passage B, which of the following attributes may probably be more important than others for an individual to be favorably received now?A. A wide range of erudition.B. Loyalty to his or her friends.C. A passion for popular novels.D. Good virtues such as honesty.29. Which of the following is NOT true about the author’s attitude towards fashion according to Passage C?A.The author thinks it a waste of time mentioning a list of examples of irrational fads.B.People are mad about fashion and therefore lose their own good judgment.C.The author never allows himself to be carried away by the fashion trends.D.Behind the behavior of keeping up with fashion is a need to stay in the crowd.30-31. Decide whether the statements are True or False according to the three passages.30. All the three passages agree that fashion plays a role in the interplay of class relations that it satisfies the contrary desires for novelty and for conformity.True ( ) False ( )31. None of the three passages are denying conventional social values in people’s judgment, for example, what’s considered good about things or people.True ( ) False ( )Part IV Read and CreateIn Part IV, you will read a passage and then write a short essay according to it. You should write with clarity and logic. (Time allowed: 40 minutes)Question 32 (Suggested completion time: 40 minutes)Directions: Read a passage from Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason and Seeking the Truth in the Sciences. Write a short essay according to the passage.… And as a multitude of laws often only hampers justice, so that a state is best governed when, with few laws, these are rigidly administered; in like manner, instead of the great number of precepts of which logic is composed, I believed that the four following would prove perfectly sufficient for me, provided I took the firm and unwavering resolution never in a single instance to fail in observing them.The first was never to accept anything for true which I did not clearly know to be such; that is to say, carefully to avoid precipitancy and prejudice, and to comprise nothing more in my judgment than what was presented to my mind so clearly and distinctly as to exclude all ground of doubt.The second, to divide each of the difficulties under examination into as many parts as possible, and as might be necessary for its adequate solution.The third, to conduct my thoughts in such order that, by commencing with objects the simplest and easiest to know, I might ascend by little and little, and, as it were, step by step, to the knowledge of the more complex; assigning in thought a certain order even to those objects which in their own nature do not stand in a relation of antecedence and sequence.And the last, in every case to make enumerations so complete, and reviews so general, that I might be assured that nothing was omitted.The long chains of simple and easy reasonings by means of which geometers are accustomed to reach the conclusions of their most difficult demonstrations, had led me to imagine that all things, to the knowledge of which man is competent, are mutually connected in the same way, and that there is nothing so far removed from us as to be beyond our reach, or so hidden that we cannot discover it, provided only we abstain from accepting the false for the true, and always preserve in our thoughts the order necessary for the deduction of one truth from another. And I had little difficulty in determining the objects with which it was necessary to commence, for I was already persuaded that it must be with the simplest and easiest to know, and, considering that of all those who have hitherto sought truth in the sciences, the mathematicians alone have been able to find any demonstrations, that is, any certain and evident reasons, I did not doubt but that such must have been the rule of their investigations.32. Answer the topic questions with no less than 300 words. You should write in YOUR OWN words:What is the main issue that Descartes explores in this part of the text, and w hat’s his method? What’s your OWN understanding of the methods proposed by Descartes?。