1996年1月试卷Passage OneQuestions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage:Material culture refers to the touchable, material “things”-physical objects that can be seen, held, felt, used-that a culture produces. Examining a culture’s tolls and technology can tell us about the group’s history and ways of life. Similarly, research into the material culture of music can help us to understand the music-culture. The most vivid body of “things” in it, of course, are musical instruments. We cannot hear for ourselves the actual sound of any musical performance before the 1870s when the phonograph（留声机）was invented, so we rely on instruments for important information about music-cultures in the remote past and their development. Here we have two kinds of evidence: instruments well preserved and instruments pictured in art. Through the study of instruments, as well as paintings, written documents, and so on, we can explore the movement of music from the Near East to China over a thousand years ago, or we can outline the spread of Near Eastern influence to Europe that resulted in the development of most of the instruments on the symphony orchestra.Sheet music or printed music, too is material culture. Scholars once defined folk music-cultures as those in which people learn and sing music by ear rather than from print, but research shows mutual influence among oral and written sources during the past few centuries in Europe, Britain, and America, printed versions limit variety because they tend to standardize any song, yet they stimulate people to create new and different song. Besides, the ability to read music notation（乐谱）has a far-reaching effect on musicians and, when it becomes widespread, on the music-culture as whole.One more important part for music’s material culture should be singled out: the influence of the electronic media-radio, record player, tape recorder, television, and videocassette, with the future promising talking and singing computers and other developments. This is all part of the “information revolution,” a twentieth-century phenomenon as important as the industrial revolution was in the nineteenth. These electronic media are not just limited to modern nations; they have affected music-music-cultures all over the globe.21. Research into the material culture of a nation is of great importance because _______.A) it helps produce new cultural tools and technologyB) it can reflect the development of the nationC) it helps understand the nation’s past and presentD) it can demonstrate the nation’s civilization22. It can be learned from this passage that _______.A) the existence of the symphony was attributed to the spread of Near Eastern and Chinese music.B) Near Eastern music had an influence on the development of the instruments in the symphonyorchestraC) the development of the symphony shows the mutual influence of Eastern and Western musicD) the musical instruments in the symphony orchestra were developed on the basis of Near Easternmusic23. According to the author, music notation is important because _____.A) it has a great effect on the music-culture as more and more people are able to read itB) it tends to standardize folk songs when it is used by folk musiciansC) it is the printed version of standardized folk musicD) it encourages people to popularize printed versions of songs24. It can be concluded from the passage that the introduction of electronic media into the world of music_______.A) has brought about an information revolutionB) has speeded up the arrival of a new generation of computesC) has given rise to new forms of music cultureD) has led to the transformation of traditional musical instruments25. Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of the passage?A) Musical instruments developed through the years will sooner or later be replaced by computers.B) Music cannot be passed on to future generation unless it is recorded.C) Folk songs cannot be spread far unless they are printed on music sheets.D) The development of music culture is highly dependent on its material aspect.Passage T woQuestions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage:T he question of whether war is inevitable is one, which has concerned many of the world’s great writers. Before considering this question, it will be useful to introduce some related concepts. Conflict, defined as opposition among social entities directed against one another, is distinguished from competition, defined as opposition among social entities independently striving for something, which is in inadequate supply. Competitors may not be aware of one another, while the parties to a conflict are. Conflict and competition are both categories of opposition, which has been defined as a process by which social entities function in the disservice of one another.Opposition is thus contrasted with cooperation, the process by which social entities function in the service of one another. These definitions are necessary because it is important to emphasize that competition between individuals or groups is inevitable in a world of limited resources, but conflict is not. Conflict, nevertheless, is very likely to occur, and is probably an essential and desirable element of human societies.Many authors have argued for the inevitability of war from the premise that in the struggle for existence among animal species, only the fittest survive. In general, however, this struggle in nature is competition, not conflict. Social animals, such as monkeys and cattle, fight to win or maintain leadership of the group. The struggle for existence occurs not in such fights, but in the competition for limited feeding areas and for the occupancy（占有）of areas free from meat-eating animals. Those who fail in this competition starve to death or become victims to other species. This struggle for existence does not resemble human war, but rather the competition of individuals for jobs, markets, and materials. The essence of the struggle is the competition for the necessities of life that are insufficient to satisfy all.Among nations there is competition in developing resources, trades, skills, and a satisfactory way of life. The successful nations grow and prosper（繁荣）; the unsuccessful decline. While it is true that this competition may induce effort to expand territory at the expense of others, and thus lead to conflict, it cannot be said that war-like conflict among nations is inevitable, although competition is.26. In the first paragraph, the author gives the definitions of some terms in order to _______.A) argue for the similarities between animal societies and human societiesB) smooth out the conflicts in human societiesC) distinguish between tow kinds of oppositionD) summarize the characteristic features of opposition and cooperation27. According to the author, competition differs from conflict in that _______.A) it results in war in most casesB) it induces efforts to expand territoryC) it is a kind of opposition among social entitiesD) it is essentially a struggle for existence28. The phrase “function in the disservice of one another” (Para.1, Line 7) most probably means“________”.A) betray each otherB) harm one anotherC) help to collaborate with each otherD) benefit one another29. The author indicates in the passage that conflict _______.A) is an inevitable struggle resulting from competitionB) reflects the struggle among social animalsC) is an opposition among individual social entitiesD) can be avoided30. The passage is probably intended to answer the question “_________”.A) Is war inevitable?B) Why is there conflict and competition?C) Is conflict desirable?D) Can competition lead to conflict?Passage ThreeQuestions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage:As Dr. Samuel Johnson said in a different era about ladies preaching, the surprising thing about computers is not that they think less well than a man, but that they think at all. The early electronic computer did not have much going for it except a marvelous memory and some good math skills. But today the best models can be wired up to learn by experience, follow an argument, ask proper questions and write poetry and music. They can also carry on somewhat puzzling conversations.Computers imitate life. As computers get more complex, the imitation gets better. Finally, the line between the original and the copy becomes unclear. In another 15 years or so, we will see the computer as a new form of life.The opinion seems ridiculous because, for one thing, computers lack the drives and emotions of living creatures. But drives can be programmed into the computer’s brain just as nature programmed them into our human brains as a part of the equipment for survival.Computers match people in some roles, and when fast decisions are needed in a crisis, they often surpass them. Having evolved when the pace of life was slower, the human brain has an inherent defect that prevents it from absorbing several streams of information simultaneously and acting on them quickly. Throw too many things at the brain at one time and it freezes up.We are still in control, but the capabilities of computers are increasing at a fantastic rate, while raw human intelligence is changing slowly, if as all. Computer power has increased ten times every eight years since 1946. In the 1990s, when the sixth generation appears, the reasoning power of an intelligence built out of silicon will begin to match that of the human brain.That does not mean the evolution of intelligence has ended on the earth. Judging by the past, we can expect that a new species will arise out of man, surpassing his achievements as he has surpassed those of his predecessor. Only a carbon chemistry enthusiast would assum e that the new species must be man’s flesh-and-blood descendants. The new kind of intelligent life is more likely to be made of silicon.31. What do you suppose was the attitude of Dr. Samuel Johnson towards ladies preaching?A) He believed that ladies were born worse preachers than men.B) He was pleased that ladies could preach, though not as well as men.C) He disapproved of ladies preaching.D) He encouraged ladies to preach.32. Today, computers are still inferior to man in terms of _______.A) decision makingB) drives and feelingsC) growth of reasoning powerD) information absorption33. In terms of making quick decisions, the human brain cannot be compared with the computer because_____.A) in the long process of evolution the slow pace of life didn’t require such ability of the human brain.B) the human brain is influenced by other factors such as motivation and emotionC) the human brain may sometimes freeze up in a dangerous situationD) computers imitate life while the human brain does not imitate computers34. Though he thinks highly of the development of computer science, the author doesn’t mean that _______.A) computers are likely to become a new form of intelligent life.B) human beings have lost control of computersC) the intelligence of computers will eventually surpass that of human beings.D) the evolution of intelligence will probably depend on that of electronic brains.35. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?A) Future man will be made of silicon instead of flesh and blood.B) Some day it will be difficult to tell a computer from a man.C) The reasoning power of computers ahs already surpassed that of man.D) Future intelligent life may not necessarily be made of organic matter.Passage FourQuestions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage:Video recorders and photocopiers, even ticket machines on the railways, often seem unnecessarily difficult to use Last December I bought myself a video cassette recorder (VCR) described as “s imple to use”. In the first three weeks I failed repeatedly to program the machine to record from the TV, and after months of practice I still made mistakes. I am not alone. According to a survey last year by Ferguson, the British manufacturer, more than one in four VCR owners never use the timer（定时器）on their machines to record a programme: they don’t use it because they’ve found it far too hard to operate.So why do manufacturers keep on designing and producing VCRS that are awkward to use if the problems are so obvious? First, the problems we notice are not obvious to technically minded（有技术思想的）designers with years of experience and trained to understand how appliances work. Secondly, designers tend to add one or two features as a time to each model, where as you or I face all a machine’s features at once. Thirdly, although finding problems in a finished product is easy, it is too late by then to do anything about the design. Finally, if manufacturers can get away with selling products that are difficult to use, it is not worth the effort of any one of them to make improvements.Some manufacturers say they concentrate on providing a wide range of features rather than on making the machines easy to use. But that gives rise to the question, “Why can’t you have features that are easy to use?” The answer is you can.Good design practice is a mixture of specific procedures and general principles. For a start, designers should build an original model of the machine and try it out on typical members of the public-not on colleagues in the development laboratory. Simple public trials would quickly reveal many design mistakes. In an ideal world, there would be some ways of controlling quality such as that the VCR must be redesigned repeatedly until, say, 90 per cent of users can work 90 per cent of the features correctly 90 per cent of the time.36. The author had trouble operating his VCR because _______.A) he had neglected the importance of using the timerB) the machine had far more technical features than necessaryC) he had set about using it without proper trainingD) its operation was far more difficult than the designer intended it to be37. According to the author, manufacturers _________.A) should add more useful features to their machinesB) often fail to make their products easy to useC) should make their appliances as attractive as possibleD) often fail to provide proper training in the use of their products38. It seems that manufacturers will remain reluctant to make improvements unless ________.A) they can do so as a very low costB) they find their machines hard to operateC) they have difficulty selling their productsD) they receive a lot of complaints about their machines39. According to the passage, before a VCR is sold on the market, its original model should be tried out_______.A) among ordinary consumers who are not technically mindedB) among people who are technically mindedC) among experienced technicians and potential usersD) among people who are in charge of public relations40. One of the reasons why VCRs are so difficult to use is that _______.A) the designers are often insensitive to the o9perational complexities of their machinesB) the range of features provided is unlimitedC) there is no ideal way of controlling qualityD) their designers often ignore the complaints of their users1996年6月试卷Passage OneQuestions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage:Three English dictionaries published recently all lay claim to possessing a “new” feature. The BBC English Dictionary contains background information on 1,000 people and places prominent in the news since 1988; the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary: Encyclopedic（百科全书的）Edition is the OALD plus encyclopedic entries; the Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture is the LDOCE plus cultural information.The key fact is that all three dictionaries can be seen to have a distinctly “cultural” as well as language learning content. That being said, the way in which they approach the cultural element is not identical, making direct comparisons between the three difficult.While there is some common ground between he encyclopedic/cultural entries for the Oxford and Longman dictionaries, there is a clear difference. Oxford lays claim to being encyclopedic on content whereas Longman distinctly concentrates on the language and culture of the English-speaking world. the Oxford dictionary can therefore stand more vigorous scrutiny（审视）for cultural bias than the Longman publication because the latter does not hesitate about viewing the rest of the world from the cultural perspectives of the English-speaking world. the cultural objectives of the BBC dictionary are in turn more distinct still. Based on an analysis of over 70 million words recorded from the BBC World Service and National Public Radio of Washington over a period of four years, their 1,000 brief encyclopedic entries are based on people and places that have featured（占显著地位）in the news recently. The intended user they have in mind is a regular listener to the World Service who will have a reasonable standard of English and a developed skill in listeningcomprehension.In reality, though, the BBC dictionary will be purchased by a far wider range of language learners, as will the other two dictionaries. We will be faced with a situation where many of the users of these dictionaries will at the very least have distinct socio-cultural perspectives and may have world views which are totally opposed and even hostile to those of the West. Advanced learners from this kind background will not only evaluate a dictionary on how user-friendly it is but will also have definite views about the scope and appropriateness of the various socio-cultural entries.21. What feature sets apart the three dictionaries discussed in the passage from traditional ones?A) The combination of two dictionaries into oneB) the new approach to defining wordsC) The inclusion of cultural contentD) The increase in the number of entries22. The Longman dictionary is more likely to be criticized for cultural prejudice because _________.A) its scope of cultural entries goes beyond the culture of the English-speaking worldB) it pays little attention to the cultural content of the non-English-speaking countriesC) it views the world purely from the standpoint of the English-speaking peopleD) it fails to distinguish language form culture in its encyclopedic entries23. The BBC dictionary differs form Oxford and Longman in that __________.A) it has a wider selection of encyclopedic entriesB) it is mainly designed to meet the needs of radio listenersC) it lays more emphasis on language than on cultureD) it is intended to help listeners develop their listening comprehension skills24. It is implied in the last paragraph that, in approaching socio-cultural content in a dictionary, specialthought should be given to _________.A) the language levels of its usersB) the number of its prospective purchasersC) the different tastes of its usersD) the various cultural backgrounds of its users25. What is the passage mainly about?A) Different ways of treating socio-cultural elements in the three new English dictionaries.B) A comparison of people’s op inions on the cultural content in the three new English dictionaries.C) The advantages of the BBC dictionary over Oxford and Longman.D) The user-friendliness of the three new English dictionaries.Passage T woQuestions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage:Real policemen hardly recognize any resemblance between their lives and what they see on TV.The first difference is that a policeman’s real life revolves round criminal law. He has to know exactly what actions are crimes and what evidence can be used to prove them in court. He has to know nearly as much law as a professional lawyer, and what is more, he has to apply it on his feet, in the dark and rain, running down a street after someone he wants to talk to.Little of his time is spent in chatting. He will spend most of his working life typing millions of words on thousands of forms about hundreds of sad, unimportant people who are guilty of stupid, petty crimes.Most television crime drama is about finding the criminal: as soon as he’s a rrested, the story is over. In real life, finding criminals is seldom much of a problem. Except in very serious cases like murders and terrorist attacks little effort is spent on searching.Having made an arrest, a detective really starts to work. He has to prove his case in court and to do that he often has to gather a lot of different evidence.At third big difference between the drama detective and the real one is the unpleasant pressures: first, as members of a police force they always have to behave absolutely in accordance with the law. Secondly, as expensive public servants they have to get results. They can hardly ever do both. Most of the time some of them have to break the rules in small ways.If the detective has to deceive the world, the world often deceives him. Hardly anyone he meets tells him the truth. And this separation the detective feels between himself and the rest of the world is deepened by the simple-mindedness-as he sees it-of citizens, social workers, doctors law-makers, and judges, who, instead of eliminating crime punish the criminals less severely in the hope that this will make them reform. The result, detectives feel, is that nine-tenths of their work is re-catching people who should have stayed behind bars. This makes them rather cynical（愤世嫉俗的）.26. A policeman has to be trained in criminal law because ________.A) he must work hard to help reform criminalsB) he must behave as professional lawyers doC) he must be able to tell when and where a crime is committedD) he must justify the arrests he makes of criminals27. What is the most suitable word that describes the work of a policeman according ot the passage?A) DangerousB) DemandingC) DistressingD) Dramatic28. According to the passage, policemen spend most of their time and efforts _________.A) patrolling the street, rain or shineB) tracking and arresting criminalsC) collecting and providing evidenceD) consulting the rules of law29. What’s the policeman’s biggest headache?A) He has to get the most desirable results without breaking the law in any way.B) He has to justify his arrests while unable to provide sufficient evidence in most cases.C) He can hardly find enough time to learn criminal law while burdened with numerous criminal casesD) He has to provide the best possible public service at the least possible expense30. Why do policemen feel separated from the rest of the world?A) Because they do not receive due support from society.B) Because they find people insincere them.C) Because they feel duperies to simple-minded people around them.D) Because they are suspicious of the people around them.Passage ThreeQuestions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage:To live in the United States today is to gain an appreciation for Dahrendorf’s asser tion that social change exists everywhere. Technology, the application of knowledge for practical ends, is a major source of social change.Y et we would do well to remind ourselves that technology is human creation; it does not exist naturally. A spear or a robot is as much a cultural as a physical object. Until humans use a spear to hunt game or a robot to produce machine parts, neither is much more than a solid mass of matter. For a bird looking for an object onwhich t rest, a spear or robot serves the purpose equally well. The explosion of the Challenger space shuttle （挑战者号航天飞机）and the Russian nuclear accident at Chernobyl drive home the human quality of technology; they provide cases in which well-planned systems suddenly went haywir e（变得混乱）and there was no ready hand to set them right. Since technology is a human creation, we are responsible for what is done with it. Pessimists worry that we will use our technology eventually to blow our world and ourselves to pieces. But they have been saying this for decades, and so far we have managed to survive and even flourish. Whether we will continue to do so in the years ahead remains uncertain. Clearly, the impact of technology on our lives deserves a closer examination.Few technological developments have had a greater impact on our lives than the computer revolution. Scientists and engineers have designed specialized machines that can do the tasks that once only people could do. There are those who assert that the switch to an information-based economy is in the same camp as other great historical milestones, particularly the Industrial Revolution. Y et when we ask why the Industrial Revolution was a revolution, we find that it was not the machines. The primary reason why it was revolutionary is that it led to great social change. It gave rise to mass production and, through mass production, to a society in which wealth was not confined to the few.In somewhat similar fashion, computers promise to revolutionize the structure of American life particularly as they free the human mind and open new possibilities in knowledge and communication. The Industrial Revolution supplemented and replaced the muscles of humans and animals by mechanical methods. The computer extends this development to supplement and replace some aspects of the mind of human beings by electronic methods. It is the capacity of the computer for solving problems and making decisions that represent sits greatest potential and that poses the greatest difficulties in predicting the impact on society.31. A spear or a robot has the quality of technology only when it _________.A) is used both as a cultural and a physical objectB) serves different purposes equally wellC) is utilized by manD) can be of use to both man and animal32. The examples of the Challenger and Chernobyl cited by the author serve to show that _______.A) if not given close examination, technology could be used to destroy our worldB) technology is a human creation, so we are responsible for itC) technology usually goes wrong, if not controlled by manD) being a human creation, technology is liable to error33. According to the author, the introduction of the computer is a revolution mainly because ________.A) the computer has revolutionized the workings of the human mindB) the computer can do the tasks that could only be done by people beforeC) it has helped to switch to an information technologyD) it has a great potential impact on society34. By using the phrase “the human quality of technology” (Para.2, Lines 6), the author refers to the fact thattechnology _________.A) has a great impact on human lifeB) has some characteristics of human natureC) can replace some aspects of the human mindD) does not exist in the natural world35. The passage is based on the author’s _________.A) keen insight into the nature of technologyB) prejudiced criticism of the role of the Industrial RevolutionC) cautious analysis of the replacement of the human mind by computersD) exaggerated description of the negative consequences of technologyPassage FourQuestions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage:Now custom has not been commonly regarded as a subject of any great importance. The inner workings of our own brains we feel to be uniquely worthy of investigation, but custom, we have a way of thinking, is behavior at its most commonplace. As a matter of fact, it is the other way around. Traditional custom, taken the world over, is a mass of detailed behavior more astonishing than what any one person can ever evolve in individual actions. Y et that is a rather trivial aspect of the matter. The fact of first-rate importance is the predominant role that custom plays in experience and in belief and the very great varieties it may manifest.No man ever looks at the world with pristine（未受外界影响的）eyes. He sees it edited by a definite set of customs and institutions and ways of thinking. Even in his philosophical probings he cannot go behind these stereotypes（固定的模式）; his very concepts of the true and the false will still have reference to his particular traditional customs. John Dewey has said in all seriousness that the part played by custom in shaping the behavior of the individual as over against any way in which he can affect traditional custom, is as the proportion of the total vocabulary of his mother tongue over against those words of his own baby talk that are taken up into the language of his family. When one seriously studies social orders that have had the opportunity to develop independently, the figure（这种比喻）becomes no more than an exact and matter-of-fact observation. The life history of the individual is first and foremost an adjustment to the patterns and standards traditionally handed down in his community. From the moment of his birth the customs into which he is born shape his experience and behavior. By the time he can talk, he is the little creature of his culture, and by the time he is grown and able to take part in its activities, its habits are his habits, its beliefs his beliefs, its impossibilities his impossibilities.36. The author thinks the reason why custom has been ignored in the academic world is that _________.A) custom reveals only the superficial nature of human behaviorB) the study of social order s can replace the study of customC) people are still not aware of the important role that custom plays in forming our world outlookD)custom ahs little to do with our ways of thinking37. Which of the following is true according to John Dewey?A) An individual can exercise very little influence on the cultural tradition into which he is born.B) Custom is the direct result of the philosophical probings of a group of people.C) An individual is strongly influenced by the cultural tradition even before he is born.D) Custom represents the collective wisdom which benefits the individual.38. The word “custom” in this passage most probably means _______.A) the concept of the true and the false of a societyB) the independently developed social ordersC) the adjustment of the individual to the new social environmentD) the patterns and standards of behavior of community39. According to the passage, a person’s life, from his birth to his death, ________.A) is constantly shaping the cultural traditions of his peopleB) is predominated by traditional customC) is continually influenced by the habits of other communitiesD) is continually influenced by the people around him40. The author’s purpose in wring this passage is _________.A) to urge individuals to follow traditional customsB) to stress the strong influence of customs on an individualC) to examine the interaction of man and social customsD) to show man’s adjustment to traditional customs。
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