中山大学2012年博士研究生入学考试英语试题（回忆版）阅读1：When global warming finally came, it stuck with a vengeance (异乎寻常地). In some regions, temperatures rose several degrees in less than a century. Sea levels shot up nearly 400 feet, flooding coastal settlements and forcing people to migrate inland. Deserts spread throughout the world as vegetation shifted drastically in North America, Europe and Asia. After driving many of the animals around them to near extinction, people were forced to abandon their old way of life for a radically new survival strategy that resulted in widespread starvation and disease. The adaptation was farming: the global-warming crisis that gave rise to it happenedmore than 10,000 years ago.As environmentalists convene in Rio de Janeiro this week to ponder the global climate of the future, earth scientists are in the midst of a revolution in understanding how climate has changed in the past—and how those changes have transformed human existence. Researchers have begun to piece together an illuminating pictureof the powerful geological and astronomical forces that have combined to change the planet‟s environmentfrom hot to cold, wet to dry and back again over a time period stretching back hundreds of millions of years.Most importantly, scientists are beginning to realize that the climatic changes have had a major impact on the evolution of the human species. New research now suggests that climate shifts have played a key role in nearly every significant turning point in human evolution: from the dawn of primates (灵长目动物) some 65 million years ago to human ancestors rising up to walk on two legs, from the huge expansion of the humanbrain to the rise of agriculture. Indeed, the human history has not been merely touched by global climate change, some scientists argue, it has in some instances been driven by it.The new research has profound implications for the environmental summit in Rio. Among other things, the findings demonstrate that dramatic climate change is nothing new for planet Earth. The benign (宜人的) global environment that has existed over the past 10,000 years—during which agriculture, writing, cities and most other features of civilization appeared—is a mere bright spot in a much larger pattern of widely varying climate over the ages. In fact, the pattern of climate change in the past reveals that Earth‟s climate will almost certainly go through dramatic changes in the future—even without the influence of human activity.1. Farming emerged as a survival strategy because man had been obliged ________.A) to give up his former way of lifeB) to leave the coastal areasC) to follow the ever-shifting vegetationD) to abandon his original settlement2. Earth scientists have come to understand that climate ________.A) is going through a fundamental changeB) has been getting warmer for 10,000 yearsC) will eventually change from hot to coldD) has gone through periodical changes3. Scientists believe that human evolution ________.A) has seldom been accompanied by climatic changesB) has exerted little influence on climatic changesC) has largely been effected by climatic changesD) has had a major impact on climatic changes4. Evidence of past climatic changes indicates that ________.A) human activities have accelerated changes of Earth‟s environmentB) Earth‟s environment will remain mild despite human interferenceC) Earth‟s climate is bound to change significantly in the futureD) Earth‟s climate is unlikely to undergo substantial changes in the future5. The message the author wishes to convey in the passage is that ________.A) human civilization remains glorious though it is affected by climatic changesB) mankind is virtually helpless in the face of the dramatic changes of climateC) man has to limit his activities to slow down the global warming processD) human civilization will continue to develop in spite of the changes of nature阅读2American no longer expect public figures, whether in speech or in writing, to command the English language with skill and gift. Nor do they aspire to such command themselves. In his latest book, Doing Our Own Thing. The Degradation of language and Music and why we should like, care, John McWhorter, a linguist and controversialist of mixed liberal and conservative views, sees the triumph of 1960s counter-culture as responsible for the decline of formal English.Blaming the permissive 1960s is nothing new, but this is not yet another criticism against the decline in education. Mr.McWhorter‟s academic speciality is language history and change, and he sees gradual disappearance of “whom” ,for example, to be natural and no more regranttable than the loss of the case-endingsof Old EnglishBut the cult of the authentic and the personal, “doing our own thing”, has spelt the death of formal speech, writing, poetry and music. While even the modestly educated sought an elevated tone when they put pen to paper before the 1960s, even the most well regarded writing since then has sought to capture spoken English on the page. Equally, in poetry, the highly personal, performative genre is the only form that could claim real liveliness. In both oral and written English, talking is triumphing over speaking, spontaneity over craft.Illustrated with an entertaining array of examples from both high and low culture, the trend that Mr. McWhorter documents is unmistakable. But it is less clear, to take the question of his subtitle, why we should, like care. As a linguist, he acknowledges that all varieties of human language, including non-standard ones like Black English, can be powerfully expressive-there exists no language or dialect in the world that cannot convey complex ideas .He is not arguing, as many do, that we can no longer think straight because we do not talk proper.Russians have a deep love for their own language and carry large chunks of memorized poetry in their heads, while Italian politicians tend to elaborate speech that would seem old-fashioned to mostEnglish-speakers. Mr. McWhorter acknowledges that formal language is not strictly necessary, and proposes no radical education reforms-he is really grieving over the loss of something beautiful more than useful. We now take our English “on paper plates instead of china”. A shame, perhaps, but probably an inevita ble one.1. According to Mc Whorter, the decline of formal EnglishA is inevitable in radical education reforms.B is but all too natural in language development.C. has caused the controversy over the counter-culture.D. brought about changes in public attitudes in the 1960s.2. The word “talking” (Linge6, paragraph3) denotesA. modesty.B. personality.C. liveliness.D. informality.3. To which of the following statements would Mc Whorter most likely agree?A. Logical thinking is not necessarily related to the way we talk.B. Black English can be more expressive than standard English.C. Non-standard varieties of human language are just as entertaining.D. Of all the varieties, standard English Can best convey complex ideas.4. The description of Russians' love of memorizing poetry shows the author'sA. interest in their language.B. appreciation of their efforts.C. admiration for their memory.D. contempt for their old-fashionedness.5. According to the last paragraph, “paper plates” is to “china” asA. “temporary” is to “permanent”.B. “radical” is to “conservative”.C. “functional” is to “artistic”.D. “humble” is to “noble”阅读3Massive changes in all of the world‟s deeply cherished sporting habits are underway. Whether it‟s one of London‟s parks full of people playing softball, and Russians taking up rugby, or the Superbowl rivaling the British Football Cup Final as a televised spectator event in Britain, the patterns of players and spectators are changing beyond recognition. We are witnessing a globalization of our sporting culture.That annual bicycle race, the Tour de France, much loved by the French is a good case in point. Just a few years back it was a strictly continental affair with France, Belgium and Holland, Spain and Italy taking part. But in recent years it has been dominated by Colombian mountain climbers, and American and Irishriders.The people who really matter welcome the shift toward globalization. Peugeot, Michelin and Panasonic are multi-national corporations that want worldwide returns for the millions they invest in teams. So it does them literally a world of good to see this unofficial world championship become just that.This is undoubtedly an economic-based revolution we are witnessing here,one made possible by communications technology, but made to happen because of marketing considerations. Sell the game and you can sell Cola or Budweiser as well The skilful way in which American football has been sold to Europe is a good example of how all sports will develop. The aim of course is not really to spread the sport for its own sake, but to increase the number of people interested in the major money-making events. The economics of the Superbowl are already astronomical. With seats at US $125, gate receipts alone were a staggering $ 10,000,000. The most important statistic of the day, however, was the $ 100,000,000 in TV advertising fees. Imagine how much that becomes when the eyes of the world are watching.So it came as a terrible shock, but not really as a surprise, to learn that some people are now suggesting thatsoccer change from being a game of two 45-minute halves, to one of four 25-minute quarters. The idea is unashamedly to capture more advertising revenue, without giving any thought for the integrity of asport which relies for its essence on the flowing nature of the action.Moreover, as sports expand into world markets, and as our choice of sports as consumers also grows, so we will demand to see them played at a higher and higher level. In boxing we have already seen numerous, dubious world title categories because people will not pay to see anything less than a “World Tide” fight, and this mean s that the title fights have to be held in different countries around the world!1. Globalization of sporting culture means that ___.A. more people are taking up sports.B. traditional sports are getting popular.C. many local sports are becoming internationalD. foreigners are more interested in local sports2. Which of the following is NOT related to the massive changes?A. Good economic returns.B. Revival of sports.C. Communications technology.D. Marketing strategies.3.What is the author‟s attitude towards the suggestion to change soccer into one of four 25-minute quarters?A. Favourable.B. Unclear.C. Reserved.D. Critical.4. People want to see higher-level sports competitions mainly because___.A. they become more professional than ever.B. they regard sports as consumer goods.C. there exist few world-class championshipsD. sports events are exciting and stimulating阅读4What does the future hold for the problem of housing? A good deal depends, of course, on the meaning of “future”. If one is thinking in terms of science fiction and the space age, it is at least possible to assume that man will have solved such trivial and earthly problems as housing. Writers of science fiction, from H.G. Wells onwards, have had little to say on the subject. They have conveyed the suggestion that men will live in great comfort, with every conceivable apparatus to make life smooth, healthy and easy, if not happy. But they havenot said what his house will be made of. Perhaps some new building material, as yet unimagined, will have been discovered or invented at least. One may be certain that bricks and mortar(泥灰，灰浆) will long have gone out of fashion.But the problems of the next generation or two can more readily be imagined. Scientists have already pointed out that unless something is done either to restrict the world‟s rapid growth in population or to discover and develop new sources of food (or both), millions of people will be dying of starvation or at the best suffering from underfeeding before this century is out. But nobody has yet worked out any plan for housing these growing populations. Admittedly the worst situations will occur in the hottest parts of the world, where housing can be light structure or in backward areas where standards are traditionally low. But even the minimum shelter requires materials of some kind and in the teeming, bulging towns the low-standard “housing” of flattened petrol cans and dirty canvas is far more wasteful of ground space than can be tolerated.Since the war, Hong Kong has suffered the kind of crisis which is likely to arise in many other places during the next generation. Literally millions of refugees arrived to swell the already growing population and emergency steps had to be taken rapidly to prevent squalor(肮脏)and disease and the spread crime. The city is tackling the situation energetically and enormous blocks of tenements(贫民住宅)are rising at an astonishing aped. But Hong Kong is only one small part of what will certainly become a vast problem and not merely a housing problem, because when population grows at this rate there are accompanying problems of education, transport, hospital services, drainage, water supply and so on. Not every area may give the same resources as Hong Kong to draw upon and the search for quicker and cheaper methods of construction must never cease.1.What is the author‟s opinion of housing p roblems in the first paragraph?A.They may be completely solved at sometime in the future.B.They are unimportant and easily dealt with.C.They will not be solved until a new building material has been discovered.D.They have been dealt with in specific detail in books describing the future.2.The writer is sure that in the distant future ___.A.bricks and mortar will be replaced by some other building material.B.a new building material will have been invented.C.bricks and mortar will not be used by people who want their house to be fashionable.D.a new way of using bricks and mortar will have been discovered.3.The writer believes that the biggest problem likely to confront the world before the end of the century ___.A.is difficult to foresee.B.will be how to feed the ever growing population.C.will be how to provide enough houses in the hottest parts of the world.D.is the question of finding enough ground space.4.When the writer says that the worst situations will occur in the hottest parts of the world or in backward areas, he is referring to the fact that in these parts ___.A.standards of building are low.B.only minimum shelter will be possible.C.there is not enough ground space.D.the population growth will be the greatest.5.Which of the following sentences best summarizes Paragraph 3?A.Hong Kong has faced a serious crisis caused by millions of refugees.B.Hong Kong has successfully dealt with the emergency caused by millions of refugees.C.Hong Kong‟s crisis was not only a matter of housing but included a number of other problems of population growth.D.Many parts of the world may have to face the kind of problems encountered by Hong Kong and may find it much harder to deal with them.阅读5Of all the components of a good night's sleep, dreams seem to be least within our control. In dreams, a window opens into a world where logic is suspended and dead people speak A century ago, Freud formulated his revolutionary theory that dreams were the disguised shadows of our unconscious desires and fears, by the late 1970s, neurologists had switched to thinking of them as just "mental noise" — the random byproducts of the neural-repair work that goes on during sleep. Now researchers suspect that dreams are part of the mind's emotional thermostat, regulating moods while the brain is "off-line". And one leading authority says that these intensely powerful mental events can be not only harnessed but actually brought under conscious control, to help us sleep and feel better. "It's your dream," says Rosalind Cartwright, chair of psychology at Chicago's Medical Center. "If you don't like it, change it"Evidence from brain imaging supports this view. The brain is as active during REM （rapid eye movement）sleep — when most vivid dreams occur — as it is when fully awake, says Dr. Eric Nofzinger at the University of Pittsburgh. But not all parts of the brain are equally involved, the limbic system （the "emotional brain"）is especially active, while the prefronted cortex （the center of intellect and reasoning）is relatively quiet. "We wake up from dreams happy or depressed, and those feelings can stay with us all day," says Stanford sleepresearcher Dr. William Dement.The link between dreams and emotions shows up among the patients in Cartwright's clinic Most people seem to have more bad dreams early in the night, progressing toward happier ones before awakening, suggesting that they are working through negative feelings generated during the day. Because our conscious mind is occupied with daily life we don't always think about the emotional significance of the day's events —until, it appears, we begin to dream.And this process need not be left to the unconscious. Cartwright believes one can exercise conscious control over recurring bad dreams. As soon as you awaken, identify what is upsetting about the dream. Visualize how you would like it to end instead; the next time it occurs, try to wake up just enough to control its course. With much practice people can learn to, literally, do it in their sleep.At the end of the day, there's probably little reason to pay attention to our dreams at all unless they keep us from sleeping or "we wake up in a panic," Cartwright says. Terrorism, economic uncertainties and general feelings of insecurity have increased people's anxiety. Those suffering from persistent nightmares should seek help from a therapist. For the rest of us, the brain has its ways of working through bad feeling. Sleep — or rather dream — on it and you'll feel better in the morning.11. Researchers have come to believe that dreamsA.can be modified in their coursesB.are susceptible to emotional changesC.reflect our innermost desires and fearsD.are a random outcome of neural repairs12. By referring to the limbic system, the author intends to showA it's function in our dreamsB the mechanism of REM sleepC the relation of dreams to emotionsD its difference from the prefrontal cortex13. The Negative feelings generated during the day tend toA aggravate in our unconscious mindB develop into happy dreamsC persist till the time we fall asleepD show up in dreams early at night14. Cartwright seems to suggest thatA waking up in time is essential to the ridding of bad dreamsB visualizing bad dreams helps bring them under controlC dreams should be left to their natural progressionD dreaming may not entirely belong to the unconscious15. What advice might Cartwright give to those who sometimes have bad dreams?A Lead your life as usual B.Seek professional helpC Exercise conscious controlD Avoid anxiety in the daytime完型填空：Celebrities (名人)lead very stressful lives, for no matter how fascinating or powerful they are, they have too little privacy, too much pressure, and no safety.For one thing，celebrities don‟t have the privacy an ordinary person has. The most personal details of their lives are printed on the front pages of the National Enquirer and the Globe so that bored supermarket shoppers can read about "Leonardo DiCaprio"s Awful Secret" or "The Heartbreak behind Winona Ryder's Smile." Even a celebrity's family is made public. A teenage son's arrest for using drug or a wife's drinking problem becomes the subject of headlines. Photographers chase celebrities at their homes, in restaurants, and on the street, hoping to get a picture of Halle Berry in curlers (卷发器)or Jim Carrey drinking beer. When celebrities try to do the things that normal people do, like eat out or attend a football game, they run the risk of being interrupted by thoughtless photographers.Celebrities must also cope with the constant pressure of having to look great and act right. Their physical appearance is always under observation. Famous women, especially, suffer from public attention, inviting remarks like "She really looks old" or "Boy, has she put on weight." Embarrassing pictures of celebrities are sold at high prices, which increases the pressure on celebrities to look good at all times. Famous people are also under pressure to act claim and collected under any circumstances. Because they are constantly observed, they have no freedom to be angry or to do something just a little crazy.Most important, celebrities must deal with the stress of being in constant danger. The friendly behaviors such as kisses of enthusiastic fans can quickly turn into uncontrolled attacks on a celebrity‟s hai r, clothes, and car. Most people agree that photographers bear some responsibility for the death of one of the leading celebrities of the 1990s-Princess Diana. Whether or not their pursuit caused the accident that took her life, it‟s clear she was chased by reporters like an escaped prisoner chased by police dogs. And celebrities can even fall victim to deliberately deadly attacks. The attempt to kill Ronald Reagan and the murder of John Lennon came about because two unbalanced people could not get these world-famous figures off their minds. As a result, famous people must live with the fact that they are always fair game-and never out of season.排序段落：In many states this year, budget requests by state universities have had to be scaled back or frozen, while tuition, the share of the cost borne by the students themselves, has gone up—in some cases faster than the rate of inflation. The problem for the governors is particularly distressing because they all agree that the quality of their colleges and universities helps drive the economic engines of their states. And they are constantly beingtold by everyone from college administrators to editorial writers that the only way to make their state universities better is to spend more money.So it was against this backdrop that members of the National Governors Association came together in this New England city this past week to discuss issues of common concern, one being higher education. And the focus of their talks about colleges centered not on how money could be more effectively directed, but on how to get greater productivity out of a system that many feel has become highly inefficient and resistive to change.As a result, the governors will embark on a three-year study of higher education systems and how to make state colleges and universities better able to meet the challenges of a global economy in the 21st century. And judging from the tenor and tone of their discussion, the study could produce a push for higher standards, more efficiency and greater accountability. “When it comes to higher education, we talk a lot about money, but we don‟t often talk of standards and accountability. With tuition ri sing faster than the rate of inflation and students taking longer and longer to finish college, one of these days the public is going to say, …Enough!‟” Pennsylvania Republican Gov. Tom Ridge said.Ridge and his fellow governors came away from the meetings resolute in the belief that higher education needs a fresh look and possibly a major boost in productivity to meet demands of new technologies and a changing work force. Several governors noted that establishment of clearer standards, greater efficiencies in providing services, and more student competency testing might be needed, in addition to curriculum inspection.Such proposals would be sure to shake up those who protect the status quo and trigger a major public debate. Education establishments that often believe that they know best tend to get nervous when elected officials seek to become involved. Utah GOP Gov. Mike Leavitt said the NGA discussion represented a “major shift” in the way governors address higher education and signaled their desire for greater direct involvement by the state chief executives in the oversight of their state university systems. While the governors were quick to note that American higher education still is the best in the world, they say adjustments that reflect the changing realities of the global economy might be needed to keep it that way.英译汉：The study of law has been recognized for centuries as a basic intellectual discipline in European universities. However, only in recent years has it become a feature of undergraduate programs in Canadian universities. Traditionally legal learning has been viewed in such institutions as the special preserve of lawyers, rather than a necessary part of the intellectual equipment of an educated person. Happily, the older and more continental view of legal education is establishing itself in a number of Canadian universities and some have even begun to offer undergraduate degrees in law.If the study of law is beginning to establish itself as part and parcel of a general education, its aims and methods should appeal directly to journalism educators. Law is a discipline which encourages responsible judgment. On the one hand, it provides opportunities to analyze such ideas as justice, democracy and freedom. On the other, it links these concepts to everyday realities in a manner which is parallel to the links journalists forge on a daily basis as they cover and comment on the news. For example, notions of evidence and fact, of basic rights and public interest are at work in the process of journalistic judgment and production just as in courts of law. Sharpening judgment by absorbing and reflecting on law is a desirable component of a journalist‟s intellectual preparation for his or her career.But the idea that the journalist must understand the law more profoundly than an ordinary citizen rests on an understanding of the established conventions and special responsibilities of the news media. Politics or, more broadly, the functioning of the state, is a major subject for journalists. The better informed they are about the way the state works, the better their reporting will be. In fact, it is difficult to see how journalists who do not have a clear grasp of the basic features of the Canadian Constitution can do a competent job on political stories. Furthermore, the legal system and the events which occur within it are primary subjects for journalists. While the quality of legal journalism varies greatly, there is an undue reliance amongst many journalists on interpretations supplied to them by lawyers. While comment and reaction from lawyers may enhance stories, it is preferable for journalists to rely on their own notions of significance and make their own judgments. These can only come from a well-grounded understanding of the legal system.1. Traditionally legal learning has been viewed in such institutions as the special preserve of lawyers, rather than a necessary part of the intellectual equipment of an educated person.Part B 选择搭配Directions:In the following article, some sentences have been removed. For Questions 1~5, choose the most suitable one from the list A~G to fit into each of the numbered blanks. There are two extra choices which do not fit in any of the gaps.remain a huge strength, bring together students and researchers from all disciplines and all parts of the world, and guarantee a human scale of values within a big university.1) Above everything else will still rise the questioning, tough-minded hunger for learning, for pushing the boundaries of knowledge ever outwards. That has characterized this university.2) . Not in the heart of the city: the colleges, the river and the commons and meadows that cluster around it. The。
