传真1996年年全真试题
Part ⅡReading Comprehension
Passage 1
Tight lipped elders used to say, “It’s not what you want in this world, but what you get.”
Psychology teaches that you do get what you want if you know what you want and want the right things.
You can make a mental blueprint of a desire as you would make a blueprint of a house, and each of us is continually making these blueprints in the general routine of everyday living. If we intend to have friends to dinner, we plan the menu, make a shopping list, decide which food to cook first, and such planning is an essential for any type of meal to be served.
Likewise, if you want to find a job, take a sheet of paper, and write a brief account of yourself. In making a blueprint for a job, begin with yourself, for when you know exactly what you have to offer, you can intelligently plan where to sell your services.
This account of yourself is actually a sketch of your working life and should include education, experience and references. Such an account is valuable. It can be referred to in filling out standard application blanks and is extremely helpful in personal interviews. While talking to you, your could be employer is deciding whether your education, your experience, and other qualifications will pay him to employ you and your “wares” and abilities must be displayed in an orderly and reasonably connected manner.
When you have carefully prepared a blueprint of your abilities and desires, you have something tangible to sell. Then you are ready to hunt for a job. Get all the possible information about your could be job. Make inquiries as to the details regarding the job and the firm. Keep your eyes and ears open, and use your own judgment. Spend a certain amount of time each day seeking the employment you wish for, and keep in mind: Securing a job is your job now.
11. What do the elders mean when they say, “It’s not what you want in this world, but what you get.”?
［A］ You’ll certainly get what you want.
［B］ It’s no use dreaming.
［C］ You should be dissatisfied with what you have.
［D］ It’s essential to set a goal for yourself.
12. A blueprint made before inviting a friend to dinner is used in this passage as .
［A］ an illustration of how to write an application for a job
［B］ an indication of how to secure a good job
［C］ a guideline for job description
［D］ a principle for job evaluation
13. According to the passage, one must write an account of himself before starting to find a job because .
［A］ that is the first step to please the employer
［B］ that is the requirement of the employer
［C］ it enables him to know when to sell his services
［D］ it forces him to become clearly aware of himself
14. When you have carefully prepared a blueprint of your abilities and desires, you have something .
［A］ definite to offer ［B］ imaginary to provide
［C］ practical to supply ［D］ desirable to present
Passage 2
With the start of BBC World Service Television, millions of viewers in Asia and America can now watch the Corporation’s news coverage, as well as listen to it.
And of course in Britain listeners and viewers can tune in to two BBC television channels, five BBC national radio services and dozens of local radio stations. They are brought sport, comedy, drama, music, news and current affairs, education, religion, parliamentary coverage, children’s programmes and films for an annual licence fee of ￡83 per household.
It is a remarkable record, stretching back over 70 years — yet the BBC’s future is now in doubt. The Corporation will survive as a publicly funded broadcasting organization, at least for the time being, but its role, its size and its programmes are now the subject of a nation wide debate in Britain.
The debate was launched by the Government, which invited anyone with an opinion of the BBC — including ordinary listeners and viewers — to say what was good or bad about the Corporation, and even whether they thought it was worth keeping. The reason for its inquiry is that the BBC’s royal charter runs out in 1996 and it must decide whether to keep the organization as it is, or to make changes.
Defenders of the Corporation — of whom there are many — are fond of quoting the American slogan “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The BBC “ain’t broke”, they say, by which they mean it is not broken (as distinct from the word ‘broke’, meaning having no money), so why bother to change it?
Yet the BBC will have to change, because the broadcasting world around it is changing. The commercial TV channels —— ITV and Channel 4 —— were required by the Thatcher Government’s Broadcasting Act to become more commercial, competing with each other for advertisers, and cutting costs and jobs. But it is the arrival of new satellite channels — funded partly by advertising and partly by viewers’subscriptions — which will bring about the biggest changes in the long term.
15. The world famous BBC now faces .
［A］ the problem of news coverage ［B］ an uncertain prospect
［C］ inquiries by the general public ［D］ shrinkage of audience
16. In the passage, which of the following about the BBC is not mentioned as the key issue?
［A］ Extension of its TV service to Far East.
［B］ Programmes as the subject of a nation-wide debate.
［C］ Potentials for further international co-operations.
［D］ Its existence as a broadcasting organization.
17. The BBC’s “royal charter” (Line 4, Paragraph 4) stands for .
［A］ the financial support from the royal family.
［B］ the privileges granted by the Queen.
［C］ a contract with the Queen.
［D］ a unique relationship with the royal family.
18. The foremost reason why the BBC has to readjust itself is no other than .
［A］ the emergence of commercial TV channels.
［B］ the enforcement of Broadcasting Act by the government.
［C］ the urgent necessity to reduce costs and jobs.
［D］ the challenge of new satellite channels.
Passage 3
In the last half of the nineteenth century “capital” and “labour” were enlarging and perfecting their rival organizations on modern lines. Many an old firm was replaced by a limited liability company with a bureaucracy of salaried managers. The change met the technical requirements of the new age by engaging a large professional element and prevented the decline in efficiency that so commonly spoiled the fortunes of family firms in the second and third generation after the energetic founders. It was moreover a step away from individual initiative, towards collectivism and municipal and state-owned business. The railway companies, though still private business managed for the benefit of shareholders, were very unlike old family business. At the same time the great municipalities went into business to supply lighting, trams and other services to the taxpayers.
The growth of the limited liability company and municipal business had important consequences. Such large, impersonal manipulation of capital and industry greatly increased the numbers and importance of shareholders as a class, an element in national life representing irresponsible wealth detached from the land and the duties of the landowners; and almost equally detached from the responsible management of business. All through the nineteenth century, America, Africa, India, Australia and parts of Europe were being developed by British capital, and British shareholders were thus enriched by the world’s movement towards industrialization. Towns like Bournemouth and Eastbourne sprang up to house large “comfortable” classes who had retired on their incomes, and who had no relation to the rest of the community except that of drawing dividends and occasionally attending a shareholders’ meeting to dictate their orders to the management. On the other hand “shareholding” meant leisure and freedom which was used by many of the later Victorians for the highest purpose of a great civilization.
The “shareholders” as such had no knowledge of the lives, thoughts or needs of the workmen employed by the company in which he held shares, and his influence on the relations of capital and labor was not good. The paid manager acting for the company was in more direct relation with the men and their demands, but even he had seldom that familiar personal knowledge of the workmen which the employer had often had under the more patriarchal system of the old family business now passing away. Indeed the mere size of operations and the numbers of workmen involved rendered such personal relations impossible. Fortunately, however, the increasing power and organization of the trade unions, at least in all skilled trades, enabled the workmen to meet on equal terms the managers of the companies who employed them. The cruel discipline of the strike and lockout taught the two parties to respect each other’s strength and understand the value of fair negotiation.
19. It’s true of the old family firms that .
［A］ they were spoiled by the younger generations
［B］ they failed for lack of individual initiative
［C］ they lacked efficiency compared with modern companies
［D］ they could supply adequate services to the taxpayers
20. The growth of limited liability companies resulted in .
［A］ the separation of capital from management
［B］ the ownership of capital by managers
［C］ the emergence of capital and labour as two classes
［D］ the participation of shareholders in municipal business
21. According to the passage, all of the following are true except that .
［A］ the shareholders were unaware of the needs of the workers
［B］ the old firm owners had a better understanding of their workers
［C］ the limited liability companies were too large to run smoothly
［D］ the trade unions seemed to play a positive role
22. The author is most critical of .
［A］ family firm owners ［B］ landowners
［C］ managers ［D］ shareholders
Passage 4
What accounts for the great outburst of major inventions in early America— breakthroughs such as the telegraph, the steamboat and the weaving machine?
Among the many shaping factors, I would single out the country’s excellent elementary schools; a labor force that welcomed the new technology; the practice of giving premiums to inventors; and above all the American genius for nonverbal, “spatial” thinking about things technological.
Why mention the elementary schools? Because thanks to these schools our early mechanics, especially in the New England and Middle Atlantic states, were generally literate and at home in arithmetic and in some aspects of geometry and trigonometry.
Acute foreign observers related American adaptiveness and inventiveness to this educational advantage. As a member of a British commission visiting here in 1853 reported, “With a mind prepared by thorough school discipline, the American boy develops rapidly into the skilled workman.”
A further stimulus to invention came from the “premium” system, which preceded our patent system and for years ran parallel with it. This approach, originated abroad, offered inventors medals, cash prizes and other incentives.
In the United States, multitudes of premiums for new devices were awarded at country fairs and at the industrial fairs in major cities. Americans flocked to these fairs to admire the new machines and thus to renew their faith in the beneficence of technological advance.
Given this optimistic approach to technological innovation, the American worker took readily to that special kind of nonverbal thinking required in mechanical technology. As Eugene Ferguson has pointed out, “A technologist thinks about objects that cannot be reduced to unambiguous verbal descriptions; they are dealt with in his mind by a visual, nonverbal process … The designer and the inventor … are able to assemble and manipulate in their minds devices that as yet do not exist.”
This nonverbal “spatial” thinking can be just as creative as painting and writing. Robert Fulton once wrote, “The mechanic should sit down among levers, screws, wedges, wheels, etc, like a poet among the letters of the alphabet, considering them as an exhibition of his thoughts, in which a new arrangement transmits a new idea.”
When all these shaping forces—schools, open attitudes, the premium system, a genius for spatial thinking —interacted with one another on the rich U.S. mainland, they produced that American characteristic emulation. Today that word implies mere imitation. But in earlier times it meant a friendly but competitive striving for fame and excellence.
23. According to the author, the great outburst of major inventions in early America was in a large part due to .
［A］ elementary schools ［B］ enthusiastic workers
［C］ the attractive premium system ［D］ a special way of thinking
24. It is implied that adaptiveness and inventiveness of the early American mechanics .
［A］ benefited a lot from their mathematical knowledge.
［B］ shed light on disciplined school management.
［C］ was brought about by privileged home training.
［D］ owed a lot to the technological development.
25. A technologist can be compared to an artist because .
［A］ they are both winners of awards.
［B］ they are both experts in spatial thinking.
［C］ they both abandon verbal description
［D］ they both use various instruments
26. The best title for this passage might be .
［A］ Inventive Mind ［B］ Effective Schooling
［C］ Ways of Thinking ［D］ Outpouring of Inventions
Passage 5
Rumor has it that more than 20 books on creationism/evolution are in the publisher’s pipelines. A few have already appeared. The goal of all will be to try to explain to a confused and often unenlightened citizenry that there are not two equally valid scientific theories for the origin and evolution of universe and life. Cosmology, geology, and biology have provided a consistent, unified, and constantly improving account of what happened. “Scientific” creationism, which is being pushed by some for “equal time” in the classrooms whenever the scientific accounts of evolution are given, is based on religion, not science. Virtually all scientists and the majority of nonfundamentalist religious leaders have come to regard “scientific” creationism as bad science and bad religion.
The first four chapters of Kitcher’s book give a very brief introduction to evolution. At appropriate places, he introduces the criticisms of the creationists and provides answers. In the last three chapters, he takes off his gloves and gives the creationists a good beating. He describes their programmes and tactics, and, for those unfamiliar with the ways of creationists, the extent of their deception and distortion may come as an unpleasant surprise. When their basic motivation is religious, one might have expected more Christian behavior.
Kitcher is a philosopher, and this may account, in part, for the clarity and effectiveness of his arguments. The non-specialist will be able to obtain at least a notion of the sorts of data and argument that support evolutionary theory. The final chapters on the creationists will be extremely clear to all. On the dust jacket of this fine book, Stephen Jay Gould says: “This book stands for reason itself.” And so it does - and all would be well were reason the only judge in the creationism/evolution debate.
27. “Creationism” in the passage refers to .
［A］ evolution in its true sense as to the origin of the universe
［B］ a notion of the creation of religion
［C］ the scientific explanation of the earth formation
［D］ the deceptive theory about the origin of the universe
28. Kitcher’s book is intended to .
［A］ recommend the views of the evolutionists
［B］ expose the true features of creationists
［C］ curse bitterly at his opponents
［D］ launch a surprise attack on creationists
29. From the passage we can infer that .
［A］ reasoning has played a decisive role in the debate
［B］ creationists do not base their argument on reasoning
［C］ evolutionary theory is too difficult for non-specialists
［D］ creationism is supported by scientific findings
30. This passage appears to be a digest of .
［A］ a book review ［B］ a scientific paper
［C］ a magazine feature ［D］ a newspaper editorial
1996年英语试题答案
Part ⅠCloze Test
1. C 2. D 3. A 4. B 5. C 6. A 7. D 8.B 9. C 10. A
Part ⅡReading Comprehension
Part A
Passage 1 11. B 12. A 13.D 14. A
Passage 2 15.B 16.C 17.C 18.D
Passage 3 19.C 20.A 21.C 22.D
Passage 4 23.D 24.A 25.B 26.A
Passage 5 27.D 28.B 29.B 30.A
1997年全真试题
Part ⅡReading Comprehension
Passage 1
It was 3: 45 in the morning when the vote was finally taken. After six months of arguing and final 16 hours of hot parliamentary debates, Australia’s Northern Territory became the first legal authority in the world to allow doctors to take the lives of incurably ill patients who wish to die. The measure passed by the convincing vote of 15 to 10. Almost immediately word flashed on the Internet and was picked up, half a world away, by John Hofsess, executive director of the Right to Die Society of Canada. He sent it on via the group’s on-line service, Death NET. Says Hofsess: “We posted bulletins all day long, because of course this isn’t just something that happened in Australia. It’s world history.”
The full import may take a while to sink in. The NT Rights of the Terminally Ill law has left physicians and citizens alike trying to deal with its moral and practical implications. Some have breathed sighs of relief, others, including churches, right-to-life groups and the Australian Medical Association, bitterly attacked the bill and the haste of its passage. But the tide is unlikely to turn back. In Australia—where an aging population, life-extending technology and changing community attitudes have all played their part—other states are going to consider making a similar law to deal with euthanasia. In the US and Canada, where the right-to-die movement is gathering strength, observers are waiting for the dominoes to start falling.
Under the new Northern Territory law, an adult patient can request death—probably by a deadly injection or pill—to put an end to suffering. The patient must be diagnosed as terminally ill by two doctors. After a “cooling off” period of seven days, the patient can sign a certificate of request. After 48 hours the wish for death can be met. For Lloyd Nickson, a 54-year-old Darwin resident suffering from lung cancer, the NT Rights of Terminally Ill law means he can get on with living without the haunting fear of his suffering: a terrifying death from his breathing condition. “I’m not afraid of dying from a spiritual point of view, but what I was afraid of was how I’d go, because I’ve watched people die in the hospital fighting for oxygen and clawing at their masks, ” he says.
11. From the second paragraph we learn that .
［A］ the objection to euthanasia is slow to come in other countries
［B］ physicians and citizens share the same view on euthanasia
［C］ changing technology is chiefly responsible for the hasty passage of the law
［D］ it takes time to realize the significance of the law’s passage
12. When the author says that observers are waiting for the dominoes to start falling, he means .
［A］ observers are taking a wait-and-see attitude towards the future of euthanasia
［B］ similar bills are likely to be passed in the US, Canada and other countries
［C］ observers are waiting to see the result of the game of dominoes
［D］ the effect-taking process of the passed bill may finally come to a stop
13. When Lloyd Nickson dies, he will .
［A］ face his death with calm characteristic of euthanasia
［B］ experience the suffering of a lung cancer patient
［C］ have an intense fear of terrible suffering
［D］ undergo a cooling off period of seven days
14. The author’s attitude towards euthanasia seems to be that of .
［A］ opposition ［B］ suspicion ［C］ approval ［D］ indifference
Passage 2
A report consistently brought back by visitors to the US is how friendly, courteous, and helpful most Americans were to them. To be fair, this observation is also frequently made of Canada and Canadians, and should best be considered North American. There are, of course, exceptions. Small-minded officials, rude waiters, and ill-mannered taxi drivers are hardly unknown in the US. Yet it is an observation made so frequently that it deserves comment.
For a long period of time and in many parts of the country, a traveler was a welcome break in an otherwise dull existence. Dullness and loneliness were common problems of the families who generally lived distant from one another. Strangers and travelers were welcome sources of diversion, and brought news of the outside world.
The harsh realities of the frontier also shaped this tradition of hospitality. Someone traveling alone, if hungry, injured, or ill, often had nowhere to turn except to the nearest cabin or settlement. It was not a matter of choice for the traveler or merely a charitable impulse on the part of the settlers. It reflected the harshness of daily life: if you didn’t take in the stranger and take care of him, there was no one else who would. And someday, remember, you might be in the same situation.
Today there are many charitable organizations which specialize in helping the weary traveler. Yet, the old tradition of hospitality to strangers is still very strong in the US, especially in the smaller cities and towns away from the busy tourist trails. “I was just traveling through, got talking with this American, and pretty soon he invited me home for dinner—amazing.” Such observations reported by visitors to the US are not uncommon, but are not always understood properly. The casual friendliness of many Americans should be interpreted neither as superficial nor as artificial, but as the result of a historically developed cultural tradition.
As is true of any developed society, in America a complex set of cultural signals, assumptions, and conventions underlies all social interrelationships. And, of course, speaking a language does not necessarily mean that someone understands social and cultural patterns. Visitors who fail to “translate” cultural meanings properly often draw wrong conclusions. For example, when an American uses the word “friend”, the cultural implications of the word may be quite different from those it has in the visitor’s language and culture. It takes more than a brief encounter on a bus to distinguish between courteous convention and individual interest. Yet, being friendly is a virtue that many Americans value highly and expect from both neighbors and strangers.
15. In the eyes of visitors from the outside world ,.
［A］ rude taxi drivers are rarely seen in the US
［B］ small-minded officials deserve a serious comment
［C］ Canadians are not so friendly as their neighbors
［D］ most Americans are ready to offer help
16. It could be inferred from the last paragraph that .
［A］ culture exercises an influence over social interrelationship
［B］ courteous convention and individual interest are interrelated
［C］ various virtues manifest themselves exclusively among friends
［D］ social interrelationships equal the complex set of cultural conventions
17. Families in frontier settlements used to entertain strangers .
［A］ to improve their hard life
［B］ in view of their long-distance travel
［C］ to add some flavor to their own daily life
［D］ out of a charitable impulse
18. The tradition of hospitality to strangers .
［A］ tends to be superficial and artificial
［B］ is generally well kept up in the United States
［C］ is always understood properly
［D］ has something to do with the busy tourist trails
Passage 3
Technically, any substance other than food that alters our bodily or mental functioning is a drug. Many people mistakenly believe the term drug refers only to some sort of medicine or an illegal chemical taken by drug addicts. They don’t realize that familiar substances such as alcohol and tobacco are also drugs. This is why the more neutral term substance is now used by many physicians and psychologists. The phrase “substance abuse” is often used instead of “drug abuse” to make clear that substances such as alcohol and tobacco can be just as harmfully misused as heroin and cocaine.
We live in a society in which the medical and social use of substances (drugs) is pervasive: an aspirin to quiet a headache, some wine to be sociable, coffee to get going in the morning, a cigarette for the nerves. When do these socially acceptable and apparently constructive uses of a substance become misuses? First of all, most substances taken in excess will produce negative effects such as poisoning or intense perceptual distortions. Repeated use of a substance can also lead to physical addiction or substance dependence. Dependence is marked first by an increased tolerance, with more and more of the substance required to produce the desired effect, and then by the appearance of unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the substance is discontinued.
Drugs (substances) that affect the central nervous system and alter perception, mood, and behavior are known as psychoactive substances. Psychoactive substances are commonly grouped according to whether they are stimulants, depressants, or hallucinogens. Stimulants initially speed up or activate the central nervous system, whereas depressants slow it down. Hallucinogens have their primary effect on perception, distorting and altering it in a variety of ways including producing hallucinations. These are the substances often called psychedelic (from the Greek word meaning “mind-manifestation”) because they seemed to radically alter one’s state of consciousness.
19. “Substance abuse”(Line 5, Paragraph 1) is preferable to “drug abuse” in that .
［A］ substances can alter our bodily or mental functioning if illegally used
［B］ “drug abuse” is only related to a limited number of drugtakers
［C］ alcohol and tobacco are as fatal as heroin and cocaine
［D］ many substances other than heroin or cocaine can also be poisonous
20. The word “pervasive” (Line 1, Paragraph 2) might mean .
［A］ widespread ［B］ overwhelming
［C］ piercing ［D］ fashionable
21. Physical dependence on certain substances results from .
［A］ uncontrolled consumption of them over long periods of time
［B］ exclusive use of them for social purposes
［C］ quantitative application of them to the treatment of diseases
［D］ careless employment of them for unpleasant symptoms
22. From the last paragraph we can infer that .
［A］ stimulants function positively on the mind
［B］ hallucinogens are in themselves harmful to health
［C］ depressants are the worst type of psychoactive substances
［D］ the three types of psychoactive substances were commonly used in groups
Passage 4
No company likes to be told it is contributing to the moral decline of a nation. “Is this what you intended to accomplish with your careers?” Senator Robert Dole asked Time Warner executives last week. “You have sold your souls, but must you corrupt our nation and threaten our children as well?” At Time Warner, however, such questions are simply the latest manifestation of the soul-searching that has involved the company ever since the company was born in 1990. It’s a self-examination that has, at various times, involved issues of responsibility, creative freedom and the corporate bottom line.
At the core of this debate is chairman Gerald Levin, 56, who took over for the late Steve Ross in 1992. On the financial front, Levin is under pressure to raise the stock price and reduce the company’s mountainous debt, which will increase to $ 17.3 billion after two new cable deals close. He has promised to sell off some of the property and restructure the company, but investors are waiting impatiently.
The flap over rap is not making life any easier for him. Levin has consistently defended the company’s rap music on the grounds of expression. In 1992, when Time Warner was under fire for releasing Ice-T’s violent rap song Cop Killer, Levin described rap as a lawful expression of street culture, which deserves an outlet. “The test of any democratic society, ”he wrote in a Wall Street Journal column, “lies not in how well it can control expression but in whether it gives freedom of thought and expression the widest possible latitude, however disputable or irritating the results may sometimes be. We won’t retreat in the face of any threats.”
Levin would not comment on the debate last week, but there were signs that the chairman was backing off his hard-line stand, at least to some extent. During the discussion of rock singing verses at last month’s stockholders’ meeting, Levin asserted that “music is not the cause of society’s ills” and even cited his son, a teacher in the Bronx, New York, who uses rap to communicate with students. But he talked as well about the “balanced struggle” between creative freedom and social responsibility, and he announced that the company would launch a drive to develop standards for distribution and labeling of potentially objectionable music.
The 15-member Time Warner board is generally supportive of Levin and his corporate strategy. But insiders say several of them have shown their concerns in this matter. “Some of us have known for many, many years that the freedoms under the First Amendment are not totally unlimited, ” says Luce. “I think it is perhaps the case that some people associated with the company have only recently come to realize this.”
23. Senator Robert Dole criticized Time Warner for .
［A］ its raising of the corporate stock price
［B］ its self-examination of soul
［C］ its neglect of social responsibility
［D］ its emphasis on creative freedom
24. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
［A］ Luce is a spokesman of Time Warner.
［B］ Gerald Levin is liable to compromise.
［C］ Time Warner is united as one in the face of the debate.
［D］ Steve Ross is no longer alive
25. In face of the recent attacks on the company, the chairman .
［A］ stuck to a strong stand to defend freedom of expression
［B］ softened his tone and adopted some new policy
［C］ changed his attitude and yielded to objection
［D］ received more support from the 15-member board
26. The best title for this passage might be .
［A］ A Company under Fire ［B］ A Debate on Moral Decline
［C］ A Lawful Outlet of Street Culture ［D］ A Form of Creative Freedom
Passage 5
Much of the language used to describe monetary policy, such as “steering the economy to a soft landing” or “a touch on the brakes”, makes it sound like a precise science. Nothing could be further from the truth. The link between interest rates and inflation is uncertain. And there are long, variable lags before policy changes have any effect on the economy. Hence the analogy that likens the conduct of monetary policy to driving a car with a blackened windscreen, a cracked rear-view mirror and a faulty steering wheel.
Given all these disadvantages, central bankers seem to have had much to boast about of late. Average inflation in the big seven industrial economies fell to a mere 2.3% last year, close to its lowest level in 30 years, before rising slightly to 2.5% this July. This is a long way below the double-digit rates which many countries experienced in the 1970s and early 1980s.
It is also less than most forecasters had predicted. In late 1994 the panel of economists which The Economist polls each month said that America’s inflation rate would average 3.5% in 1995. In fact, it fell to 2.6% in August, and is expected to average only about 3% for the year as a whole. In Britain and Japan inflation is running half a percentage point below the rate predicted at the end of last year. This is no flash in the pan; over the past couple of years, inflation has been consistently lower than expected in Britain and America.
Economists have been particularly surprised by favourable inflation figures in Britain and the United States, since conventional measures suggest that both economies, and especially America’s, have little productive slack. America’s capacity utilisation, for example, hit historically high levels earlier this year, and its jobless rate (5.6% in August) has fallen below most estimates of the natural rate of unemployment—the rate below which inflation has taken off in the past.
Why has inflation proved so mild? The most thrilling explanation is, unfortunately, a little defective. Some economists argue that powerful structural changes in the world have up-ended the old economic models that were based upon the historical link between growth and inflation.
27. From the passage we learn that .
［A］ there is a definite relationship between inflation and interest rates
［B］ economy will always follow certain models
［C］ the economic situation is better than expected
［D］ economists had foreseen the present economic situation
28. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
［A］ Making monetary policies is comparable to driving a car.
［B］ An extremely low jobless rate will lead to inflation.
［C］ A high unemployment rate will result from inflation.
［D］ Interest rates have an immediate effect on the economy.
29. The sentence “This is no flash in the pan” (Line 5, Paragraph 3) means that .
［A］ the low inflation rate will last for some time
［B］ the inflation rate will soon rise
［C］ the inflation will disappear quickly
［D］ there is no inflation at present
30. The passage shows that the author isthe present situation .
［A］ critical of ［B］ puzzled by
［C］ disappointed at ［D］ amazed at
1997年英语试题答案
Part ⅠCloze Test
1. A 2. C 3. D 4. A 5. B 6. D 7. C 8.B 9. A 10. D
Part ⅡReading Comprehension
Part A
Passage 111. D 12. B 13.A 14. C
Passage 215.D 16.A 17.C 18.B
Passage 319.D 20.A 21.A 22.B
Passage 423.C 24.D 25.B 26.A
Passage 527.C 28.B 29.A 30.D
Few creations of big technology capture the imagination like giant dams. Perhaps it is humankind’s long suffering at the mercy of flood and drought that makes the idea of forcing the waters to do our bidding so fascinating. But to be fascinated is also, sometimes, to be blind. Several giant dam projects threaten to do more harm than good.
The lesson from dams is that big is not always beautiful. It doesn’t help that building a big, powerful dam has become a symbol of achievement for nations and people striving to assert themselves. Egypt’s leadership in the Arab world was cemented by the Aswan High Dam. Turkey’s bid for First World status includes the giant Ataturk Dam.
But big dams tend not to work as intended. The Aswan Dam, for example, stopped the Nile flooding but deprived Egypt of the fertile silt that floods left -- all in return for a giant reservoir of disease which is now so full of silt that it barely generates electricity.
And yet, the myth of controlling the waters persists. This week, in the heart of civilized Europe, Slovaks and Hungarians stopped just short of sending in the troops in their contention over a dam on the Danube. The huge complex will probably have all the usual problems of big dams. But Slovakia is bidding for independence from the Czechs, and now needs a dam to prove itself.
Meanwhile, in India, the World Bank has given the go-ahead to the even more wrong-headed Narmada Dam. And the bank has done this even though its advisors say the dam will cause hardship for the powerless and environmental destruction. The benefits are for the powerful, but they are far from guaranteed.
Proper, scientific study of the impacts of dams and of the cost and benefits of controlling water can help to resolve these conflicts. Hydroelectric power and flood control and irrigation are possible without building monster dams. But when you are dealing with myths, it is hard to be either proper, or scientific. It is time that the world learned the lessons of Aswan. You don’t need a dam to be saved.
11. The third sentence of Paragraph 1 implies that ________.
[A] people would be happy if they shut their eyes to reality
[B] the blind could be happier than the sighted
[C] over-excited people tend to neglect vital things（C）
[D] fascination makes people lose their eyesight
12. In Paragraph 5, “the powerless” probably refers to ________.
[A] areas short of electricity
[B] dams without power stations
[C] poor countries around India（D）
[D] common people in the Narmada Dam area
13. What is the myth concerning giant dams?
[A] They bring in more fertile soil.
[B] They help defend the country.
[C] They strengthen international ties.（D）
[D] They have universal control of the waters.
14. What the author tries to suggest may best be interpreted as ________.
[A] “It’s no use crying over spilt milk”
[B] “More haste, less speed”
[C] “Look before you leap”（C）
[D] “He who laughs last laughs best”
Well, no gain without pain, they say. But what about pain without gain? Everywhere you go in America, you hear tales of corporate revival. What is harder to establish is whether the productivity revolution that businessmen assume they are presiding over is for real.
The official statistics are mildly discouraging. They show that, if you lump manufacturing and services together, productivity has grown on average by 1.2% since 1987. That is somewhat faster than the average during the previous decade. And since 1991, productivity has increased by about 2% a year, which is more than twice the 1978-87 average. The trouble is that part of the recent acceleration is due to the usual rebound that occurs at this point in a business cycle, and so is not conclusive evidence of a revival in the underlying trend. There is, as Robert Rubin, the treasury secretary, says, a “disjunction” between the mass of business anecdote that points to a leap in productivity and the picture reflected by the statistics.
Some of this can be easily explained. New ways of organizing the workplace -- all that re-engineering and downsizing -- are only one contribution to the overall productivity of an economy, which is driven by many other factors such as joint investment in equipment and machinery, new technology, and investment in education and training. Moreover, most of the changes that companies make are intended to keep them profitable, and this need not always mean increasing productivity: switching to new markets or improving quality can matter just as much.
Two other explanations are more speculative. First, some of the business restructuring of recent years may have been ineptly done. Second, even if it was well done, it may have spread much less widely than people suppose.
Leonard Schlesinger, a Harvard academic and former chief executive of Au Bong Pain, a rapidly growing chain of bakery cafes, says that much “re-engineering” has been crude. In many cases, he believes, the loss of revenue has been greater than the reductions in cost. His colleague, Michael Beer, says that far too many companies have applied re-engineering in a mechanistic fashion, chopping out costs without giving sufficient thought to long-term profitability. BBDO’s Al Rosenshine is blunter. He dismisses a lot of the work of re-engineering consultants as mere rubbish -- “the worst sort of ambulance chasing.”
15. According to the author, the American economic situation is ________.
[A] not as good as it seems
[B] at its turning point
[C] much better than it seems（A）
[D] near to complete recovery
16. The official statistics on productivity growth ________.
[A] exclude the usual rebound in a business cycle
[B] fall short of businessmen’s anticipation
[C] meet the expectation of business people（B）
[D] fail to reflect the true state of economy
17. The author raises the question “what about pain without gain?” because ________.
[A] he questions the truth of “no gain without pain”
[B] he does not think the productivity revolution works
[C] he wonders if the official statistics are misleading（B）
[D] he has conclusive evidence for the revival of businesses
18. Which of the following statements is NOT mentioned in the passage?
[A] Radical reforms are essential for the increase of productivity.
[B] New ways of organizing workplaces may help to increase productivity.
[C] The reduction of costs is not a sure way to gain long-term profitability.（A）
[D] The consultants are a bunch of good-for-nothings.
Science has long had an uneasy relationship with other aspects of culture. Think of Gallileo’s 17th-century trial for his rebelling belief before the Catholic Church or poet William Blake’s harsh remarks against the mechanistic worldview of Isaac Newton. The schism between science and the humanities has, if anything, deepened in this century.
Until recently, the scientific community was so powerful that it could afford to ignore its critics -- but no longer. As funding for science has declined, scientists have attacked “anti-science” in several books, notably Higher Superstition, by Paul R. Gross, a biologist at the University of Virginia, and Norman Levitt, a mathematician at Rutgers University; and The Demon-Haunted World, by Carl Sagan of Cornell University.
Defenders of science have also voiced their concerns at meetings such as “The Flight from Science and Reason,” held in New York City in 1995, and “Science in the Age of (Mis) information,” which assembled last June near Buffalo.
Anti-science clearly means different things to different people. Gross and Levitt find fault primarily with sociologists, philosophers and other academics who have questioned science’s objectivity. Sagan is more concerned with those who believe in ghosts, creationism and other phenomena that contradict the scientific worldview.
A survey of news stories in 1996 reveals that the anti-science tag has been attached to many other groups as well, from authorities who advocated the elimination of the last remaining stocks of smallpox virus to Republicans who advocated decreased funding for basic research.
Few would dispute that the term applies to the Unabomber, whose manifesto, published in 1995, scorns science and longs for return to a pre-technological utopia. But surely that does not mean environmentalists concerned about uncontrolled industrial growth are anti-science, as an essay in US News & World Report last May seemed to suggest.
The environmentalists, inevitably, respond to such critics. The true enemies of science, argues Paul Ehrlich of Stanford University, a pioneer of environmental studies, are those who question the evidence supporting global warming, the depletion of the ozone layer and other consequences of industrial growth.
Indeed, some observers fear that the anti-science epithet is in danger of becoming meaningless. “The term ‘anti-science’ can lump together too many, quite different things,” notes Harvard University philosopher Gerald Holton in his 1993 work Science and Anti-Science. “They have in common only one thing that they tend to annoy or threaten those who regard themselves as more enlightened.”
19. The word “schism” (Line 4, Paragraph 1) in the context probably means ________.
[A] confrontation
[B] dissatisfaction
[C] separation（C）
[D] contempt
20. Paragraphs 2 and 3 are written to ________.
[A] discuss the cause of the decline of science’s power
[B] show the author’s sympathy with scientists
[C] explain the way in which science develops（D）
[D] exemplify the division of science and the humanities
21. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
[A] Environmentalists were blamed for anti-science in an essay.
[B] Politicians are not subject to the labeling of anti-science.
[C] The “more enlightened” tend to tag others as anti-science.（A）
[D] Tagging environmentalists as “anti-science” is justifiable.
22. The author’s attitude toward the issue of “science vs. anti-science” is ________.
[A] impartial
[B] subjective
[C] biased（A）
[D] puzzling
Emerging from the 1980 census is the picture of a nation developing more and more regional competition, as population growth in the Northeast and Midwest reaches a near standstill.
This development -- and its strong implications for US politics and economy in years ahead -- has enthroned the South as America’s most densely populated region for the first time in the history of the nation’s head counting.
Altogether, the US population rose in the 1970s by 23.2 million people -- numerically the third-largest growth ever recorded in a single decade. Even so, that gain adds up to only 11.4 percent, lowest in American annual records except for the Depression years.
Americans have been migrating south and west in larger numbers since World War II, and the pattern still prevails.
Three sun-belt states -- Florida, Texas and California -- together had nearly 10 million more people in 1980 than a decade earlier. Among large cities, San Diego moved from 14th to 8th and San Antonio from 15th to 10th -- with Cleveland and Washington. D. C., dropping out of the top 10.
Not all that shift can be attributed to the movement out of the snow belt, census officials say. Nonstop waves of immigrants played a role, too -- and so did bigger crops of babies as yesterday’s “baby boom” generation reached its child bearing years.
Moreover, demographers see the continuing shift south and west as joined by a related but newer phenomenon: More and more, Americans apparently are looking not just for places with more jobs but with fewer people, too. Some instances—
■Regionally, the Rocky Mountain states reported the most rapid growth rate -- 37.1 percent since 1970 in a vast area with only 5 percent of the US population.
■Among states, Nevada and Arizona grew fastest of all: 63.5 and 53.1 percent respectively. Except for Florida and Texas, the top 10 in rate of growth is composed of Western states with 7.5 million people -- about 9 per square mile.
The flight from overcrowdedness affects the migration from snow belt to more bearable climates.
Nowhere do 1980 census statistics dramatize more the American search for spacious living than in the Far West. There, California added 3.7 million to its population in the 1970s, more than any other state.
In that decade, however, large numbers also migrated from California, mostly to other parts of the West. Often they chose -- and still are choosing -- somewhat colder climates such as Oregon, Idaho and Alaska in order to escape smog, crime and other plagues of urbanization in the Golden State.
As a result, California’s growth rate dropped during the 1970s, to 18.5 percent -- little more than two thirds the 1960s’ growth figure and considerably below that of other Western states.
23. Discerned from the perplexing picture of population growth the 1980 census provided, America in 1970s ________.
[A] enjoyed the lowest net growth of population in history
[B] witnessed a southwestern shift of population
[C] underwent an unparalleled period of population growth（B）
[D] brought to a standstill its pattern of migration since World War II
24. The census distinguished itself from previous studies on population movement in that ________.
[A] it stresses the climatic influence on population distribution
[B] it highlights the contribution of continuous waves of immigrants
[C] it reveals the Americans’ new pursuit of spacious living（C）
[D] it elaborates the delayed effects of yesterday’s “baby boom”
25. We can see from the available statistics that ________.
[A] California was once the most thinly populated area in the whole US
[B] the top 10 states in growth rate of population were all located in the West
[C] cities with better climates benefited unanimously from migration（D）
[D] Arizona ranked second of all states in its growth rate of population
26. The word “demographers” (Line 1, Paragraph 8) most probably means ________.
[A] people in favor of the trend of democracy
[B] advocates of migration between states
[C] scientists engaged in the study of population（C）
[D] conservatives clinging to old patterns of life
Scattered around the globe are more than 100 small regions of isolated volcanic activity known to geologists as hot spots. Unlike most of the world’s volcanoes, they are not always found at the boundaries of the great drifting plates that make up the earth’s surface; on the contrary, many of them lie deep in the interior of a plate. Most of the hot spots move only slowly, and in some cases the movement of the plates past them has left trails of dead volcanoes. The hot spots and their volcanic trails are milestones that mark the passage of the plates.
That the plates are moving is now beyond dispute. Africa and South America, for example, are moving away from each other as new material is injected into the sea floor between them. The complementary coastlines and certain geological features that seem to span the ocean are reminders of where the two continents were once joined. The relative motion of the plates carrying these continents has been constructed in detail, but the motion of one plate with respect to another cannot readily be translated into motion with respect to the earth’s interior. It is not possible to determine whether both continents are moving in opposite directions or whether one continent is stationary and the other is drifting away from it. Hot spots, anchored in the deeper layers of the earth, provide the measuring instruments needed to resolve the question. From an analysis of the hot-spot population it appears that the African plate is stationary and that it has not moved during the past 30 million years.
The significance of hot spots is not confined to their role as a frame of reference. It now appears that they also have an important influence on the geophysical processes that propel the plates across the globe. When a continental plate come to rest over a hot spot, the material rising from deeper layers creates a broad dome. As the dome grows, it develops deep fissures (cracks); in at least a few cases the continent may break entirely along some of these fissures, so that the hot spot initiates the formation of a new ocean. Thus just as earlier theories have explained the mobility of the continents, so hot spots may explain their mutability (inconstancy).
27. The author believes that ________.
[A] the motion of the plates corresponds to that of the earth’s interior
[B] the geological theory about drifting plates has been proved to be true
[C] the hot spots and the plates move slowly in opposite directions（B）
[D] the movement of hot spots proves the continents are moving apart
28. That Africa and South America were once joined can be deduced from the fact that ________.
[A] the two continents are still moving in opposite directions
[B] they have been found to share certain geological features
[C] the African plate has been stable for 30 million years（B）
[D] over 100 hot spots are scattered all around the globe
29. The hot spot theory may prove useful in explaining ________.
[A] the structure of the African plates
[B] the revival of dead volcanoes
[C] the mobility of the continents（D）
[D] the formation of new oceans
30. The passage is mainly about ________.
[A] the features of volcanic activities
[B] the importance of the theory about drifting plates
[C] the significance of hot spots in geophysical studies（C）
[D] the process of the formation of volcanoes
1998年英语试题答案
Part ⅠCloze Test
1. A 2. B 3. D 4. A 5. D 6. D 7. A 8.B 9. C 10. D
Part ⅡReading Comprehension
Part A
Passage 111. C 12. D 13.D 14. C
Passage 215.A 16.B 17.B 18.A
Passage 319.C 20.D 21.A 22.A
Passage 423.B 24.C 25.D 26.C
Passage 527.B 28.B 29.C 30.C
1999年年全真试题
Part ⅡReading Comprehension
Passage 1
It’s a rough world out there. Step outside and you could break a leg slipping on your doormat. Light up the stove and you could burn down the house. Luckily, if the doormat or stove failed to warn of coming disaster, a successful lawsuit might compensate you for your troubles. Or so the thinking has gone since the early 1980s, when juries began holding more companies liable for their customers’ misfortunes.
Feeling threatened, companies responded by writing ever longer warning labels, trying to anticipate every possible accident. Today, stepladders carry labels several inches long that warn, among other things, that you might—surprise!—fall off. The label on a child’s Batman cape cautions that the toy “does not enable user to fly”.
While warnings are often appropriate and necessary—the dangers of drug interactions, for example—and many are required by state or federal regulations, it isn’t clear that they actually protect the manufacturers and sellers from liability if a customer is injured. About 50 percent of the companies lose when injured customers take them to court.
Now the tide appears to be turning. As personal injury claims continue as before, some courts are beginning to side with defendants, especially in cases where a warning label probably wouldn’t have changed anything. In May, Julie Nimmons, president of Schutt Sports in Illinois, successfully fought a lawsuit involving a football player who was paralyzed in a game while wearing a Schutt helmet. “We’re really sorry he has become paralyzed, but helmets aren’t designed to prevent those kinds of injuries, ” says Nimmons. The jury agreed that the nature of the game, not the helmet, was the reason for the athlete’s injury. At the same time, the American Law Institute—a group of judges, lawyers, and academics whose recommendations carry substantial weight—issued new guidelines for tort law stating that companies need not warn customers of obvious dangers or bombard them with a lengthy list of possible ones. “Important information can get buried in a sea of trivialities, ” says a law professor at Cornell Law School who helped draft the new guidelines. If the moderate end of the legal community has its way, the information on products might actually be provided for the benefit of customers and not as protection against legal liability.
11. What were things like in 1980s when accidents happened?
［A］ Customers might be relieved of their disasters through lawsuits.
［B］ Injured customers could expect protection from the legal system.
［C］ Companies would avoid being sued by providing new warnings.
［D］ Juries tended to find fault with the compensations companies promised.
12. Manufacturers as mentioned in the passage tend to.
［A］ satisfy customers by writing long warnings on products
［B］ become honest in describing the inadequacies of their products
［C］ make the best use of labels to avoid legal liability
［D］ feel obliged to view customers’ safety as their first concern
13. The case of Schutt helmet demonstrated that.
［A］ some injury claims were no longer supported by law
［B］ helmets were not designed to prevent injuries
［C］ product labels would eventually be discarded
［D］ some sports games might lose popularity with athletes
14. The author’s attitude towards the issue seems to be.
［A］ biased ［B］ indifferent ［C］ puzzling ［D］ objective
Passage 2
In the first year or so of Web business, most of the action has revolved around efforts to tap the consumer market. More recently, as the Web proved to be more than a fashion, companies have started to buy and sell products and services with one another. Such business to business sales make sense because business people typically know what product they’re looking for.
Nonetheless, many companies still hesitate to use the Web because of doubts about its reliability. “Businesses need to feel they can trust the pathway between them and the supplier,” says senior analyst Blane Erwin of Forrester Research. Some companies are limiting the risk by conducting online transactions only with established business partners who are given access to the company’s private intranet.
Another major shift in the model for Internet commerce concerns the technology available for marketing. Until recently, Internet marketing activities have focused on strategies to “pull” customers into sites. In the past year, however, software companies have developed tools that allow companies to “push” information directly out to consumers, transmitting marketing messages directly to targeted customers. Most notably, the Pointcast Network uses a screen saver to deliver a continually updated stream of news and advertisements to subscribers’ computer monitors. Subscribers can customize the information they want to receive and proceed directly to a company’s Web site. Companies such as Virtual Vineyards are already starting to use similar technologies to push messages to customers about special sales, product offerings, or other events. But push technology has earned the contempt of many Web users. Online culture thinks highly of the notion that the information flowing onto the screen comes there by specific request. Once commercial promotion begins to fill the screen uninvited, the distinction between the Web and television fades. That’s a prospect that horrifies Net purists.
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