2013年考研英语基础阶段测试卷十七
Section ⅠUse of EnglishDirections:
Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)
When anyone opens a current account at a bank, he is lending the bank money. He may 1 the repayment of the money at any time, either 2 cash or by drawing a check in favor of another person. 3, the banker-customer relationship is that of debtor and creditor who is 4 depending on whether the customer's account is 5 credit or is overdrawn. But, in 6 to that basically simple concept, the bank and its customer 7 a large number of obligations to one another. Many of these obligations can give 8 to problems and complications but a bank customer, unlike, say, a buyer of goods, cannot complain that the law is 9 against him.
The bank must 10 its customer's instructions, and not those of anyone else. 11, for example, a customer opens an account, he instructs the bank to debit his account only in 12 of checks drawn by himself. He gives the bank 13 of his signature, and there is a very firm rule that the bank has no right or 14 to pay out a customer's money 15 a check on which its customer's signature has been 16. It makes no difference that the forgery may have been a very 17 one: the bank must recognize its customer's signature. For this reason there is no 18 to the customer in the practice, 19 by banks, of printing the customer's name on his checks. If this 20 forgery, it is the bank that will lose, not the customer. (254 words)
1. acquire deposit demand derive
2. for through as in
3. However Primarily Moreover Presumably
4. which what how that
5. on with in for
6. support contrast regard addition
7. owe commit attribute embark
8. purpose rise priority thought
9. loaded offended discriminated directed
10. conform comply obey abide
11. Unless Although Since When
12. respect charge line place
13. specifics signs symbols specimens
14. reputation prestige authority impact
15. by on with for
16. printed confirmed forged justified
17. delicate skillful unusual unique
18. risk guarantee fault benefit
19. engaged intended adapted adopted
20. contributes facilitates results leads
Section ⅡReading Comprehension
Part A
When Dr. John W. Gofman, professor of medical physics at the University of California and a leading nuclear critic, speaks of “ecocide” in his adversary view of nuclear technology, he means the following: A large nuclear plant like that in Kalkar,the Netherlands, would produce about 200 pounds of plutonium each year. One pound, released into the atmosphere, could cause 9 billion cases of lung cancer. This waste product must be stored for 500,000 years before it is of no further danger to man. In the anticipated reactor economy, it is estimated that there will be 10,000 tons of this material in Western Europe, of which one table-spoonful of plutonium-239 represents the official maximum permissible body burden for 200,000 people. Rather than being biodegradable, plutonium destroys biological properties.
In 1972 the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration ruled that the asbestos level in the work place should be lowered to 2 fibers per cubic centimeter of air, but the effective date of the ruling has been delayed until now. The International Federation of Chemical and General Workers' Unions report that the 2-fiber standard was based primarily on one study of 290 men at a British asbestos factory. But when the workers at the British factory had been reexamined by another physician, 40—70 percent had X'ray evidence of lung abnormalities. According to present medical information at the factory in question, out of a total of 29 deaths thus far, seven were caused by lung cancer. An average European or American worker comes into contact with six million fibers a day. “We are now, in fact, finding cancer deaths within the family of the asbestos worker,” states Dr. Irving Selikoff, of the Mount Sinai Medical School in New York.
It is now also clear that vinyl chloride, a gas from which the most widely used plastics are made, causes a fatal cancer of the blood-vessel cells of the liver. However, the history of the research on vinyl chloride is, in some ways, more disturbing than the “Watergate cover-up.” “There has been evidence of potentially serious disease among polyvinyl chloride workers for 25 years that has been incompletely appreciated and inadequately approached by medical scientists and by regulatory authorities,” summed up Dr. Selikoff in the New Scientist. At least 17 workers have been killed by vinyl chloride because research over the past 25 years was not followed up. And for over 10 years, workers have been exposed to concentrations of vinyl chloride 10 times the “safe limit” imposed by Dow Chemical Company. (422 words)
Notes: plutonium 钚。asbestos 石棉。polyvinyl chloride 聚氯乙烯。
21. By “ecocide” the author most probably means
waste utilization.
ecological balance.
radioactive reaction.
massive bio-destruction.
22. According to the text, the author mentions plutonium in paragraph 1 to
estimate the amount of nuclear material in Europe.
exemplify one of the possible causes of lung cancer.
highlight the measures needed to prevent lung cancer.
show the destructive properties of industrial waste materials.
23. The style of the second paragraph is mainly
factual.
sarcastic.
emotional.
argumentative.
24. According to paragraph 3, some workers have been killed by harmful pollutants in that
production could not be halted.
they failed to take safety measures.
research was not pursued to a solution.
safety equipment was not adequately provided.
25. It can be inferred from the text that the author believes that
nationwide application of anti-pollution devices can finally prevent cancer.
tough legislation is needed to set lower limits of worker exposure to harmful chemicals.
more research is required into the causes of cancer before further progress can be made.
industrialization must be slowed down to prevent further spread of cancercausing agents.
Text2
The topic of cloning has been a politically and ethically controversial one since its very beginning. While the moral and philosophical aspects of the issues are entirely up to the interpretation of the individual, the application of cloning technology can be studied objectively. Many in the scientific community advocate the use of cloning for the preservation and support of endangered species of animals, which aside from cloning, have no other practical hope for avoiding extinction.
The goal of the use of cloning to avoid extinction is the reintroduction of new genes into the gene pool of species with few survivors, ensuring the maintenance and expansion of genetic diversity. Likely candidates for this technique are species known to have very few surviving members, such as the African Bongo Antelope, the Sumatran Tiger, and the Chinese Giant Panda. In the case of Giant Panda, some artificial techniques for creating offspring have already been performed, perhaps paving the way for cloning as the next step in the process.
With the estimated population of only about 1000 Giant Pandas left in the world, the urgency of the situation has led to desperate measures. One panda was born through the technique of artificial insemination in the San Diego Zoo in the United States. “Hua Mei” was born in 1999 after her parents, Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling, had trouble conceiving naturally.
The plan to increase the Giant Panda population through the use of cloning involves the use of a species related to the Giant Panda, the American Black Bear. Egg cells will be removed from female black bears and then fertilized with Panda cells such as those from Ling-Ling or Hsing-Hsing. The fertilized embryo will then re-implanted into the black bear, where it will grow and mature, until a new panda is delivered from the black bear host.
Critics of cloning technology argue that the emphasis on cloning as a method by which to preserve species will draw funding away from other methods, such as habitat preservation and conservation. Proponents of cloning counter that many countries in which many endangered species exist are too poor to protect and maintain the species' habitats anyway, making cloning technology the only practical way to ensure that those species survive to future generations. The issue is still hotly debated, as both sides weigh the benefits that could be achieved against the risks and ethical concerns that constantly accompany any argument on the issue. (402 words)
Notes: ethically 道德上。gene pool基因库。insemination n. 受精。fertilize 使受精。embryo 胚胎。proponent 支持者，拥护者。weigh A against B 权衡A和B的利弊。
26. The author raises the issue of ethical consideration in cloning in paragraph 1 in order to
identify the issues that will not be addressed in the text.
reveal an area of interest that will be explored later in the text.
identify one of the main issues affecting the cloning controversy today.
draw the reader's attention to a sensitive issue that bears consideration in the topic of cloning.
27. The author directs attention to “Hua Mei”, the baby panda born in the San Diego Zoo, in order to
show that cloning as an artificial birth technique has succeeded.
argue that pandas are a particularly likely candidate for cloning.
show that artificial birth techniques other than cloning have succeeded.
demonstrate the necessity of cloning and other artificial birth techniques to the survival of certain species.
28. Paragraph 4 is written in order to
detail the process by which cloning in the panda population has been executed in the past.
guide the reader to consider the possibility of cloning in restoring the panda
population.
demonstrate that the use of cloning to repopulate the panda species is a feasible goal.
inform the reader of how cloning would be carried out in the panda population.
29. The main purpose of the last paragraph is to
argue in favor of one side on a particularly controversial topic of cloning.
display both sides' arguments on another contentious issue in cloning.
redirect the readers' attention to the previously raised issue of ethics in cloning.
provide further relevant information to the evaluation of cloning as a preservation technique.
30. It can be inferred from the information given in the text that the best candidate for cloning would be
Giant Pandas.
an endangered species with many living related species.
the species in which previous techniques of artificial reproduction have been
successfully applied.
those for which cloning is the only feasible method by which to reproduce the species.
Text3
Pronouncing a language is a skill. Every normal person is an expert in the skill of pronouncing his own language, but few people are even moderately proficient at pronouncing foreign languages. Now there are many reasons for this, some obvious, some perhaps not so obvious. But I suggest that the fundamental reason why people in general do not speak foreign languages very much better than they do is that they fail to grasp the true nature of the problem of learning to pronounce, and consequently never set about tackling it in the right way. Far too many people fail to realize that pronouncing a foreign language is a skill, one that needs careful training of a special kind, and one that cannot be acquired by just leaving it to take care of itself. I think even teachers of language, while recognizing the importance of a good accent, tend to neglect, in their practical teaching, the branch of study concerned with speaking the language.
So the first point I want to make is that English pronunciation must be taught; the teacher should be prepared to devote some of the lesson time to this, and by his whole attitude to the subject should get the student to feel that here is a matter worthy of receiving his close attention. So there should be occasions when other aspects of English, such as grammar or spelling, are allowed for the moment to take second place.
Apart from this question of the time given to pronunciation, there are two other requirements for the teacher: the first, knowledge; the second, technique.
It is important that the teacher should be in possession of the necessary information. This can generally be obtained from books. It is possible to get from books some idea of the mechanics of speech, and of what we call general phonetic theory. It is also possible in this way to get a clear mental picture of the relationship between the sounds of different languages, between the speech habits of English people and those, say, of your students. Unless the teacher has such a picture, any comments he may make on his students' pronunciation are unlikely to be of much use, and lesson time spent on pronunciation may well be time-wasted.
But it does not follow that you can teach pronunciation successfully as soon as you have read the necessary books. It depends, after that, on what use you make of your knowledge, and this is a matter of technique.
Now the first and most important part of a language teacher's technique is his own performance, his ability to demonstrate the spoken language, in every detail of articulation as well as in fluent speaking, so that the student's latent capacity for imitation is given the fullest scope and encouragement. The teacher, then, should be as perfect a model in this respect as he can make himself. And to supplement his own performance, however satisfactory this may be, the modern teacher has at his disposal recordings, radio, television and video, to supply the authentic voices of native speakers, or, if the teacher happens to be a native speaker himself or speaks just like one, then to vary the method of presenting the language material. (537 words)
Notes: set about着手，试图。articulation发音。latent潜在的，不明显的。at one's disposal供某人任意支配使用。
31. What does the writer actually say about pronouncing foreign languages?
Only a few people are really proficient.
No one is really an expert in the skill.
There aren't many people who are even fairly good.
There are even some people who are moderately proficient.
32. The writer argues that going about the problem of pronunciation in the wrong way is
an obvious cause of not grasping the problem correctly.
a fundamental consequence of not speaking well.
a consequence of not grasping the problem correctly.
not an obvious cause of speaking poorly.
33. What is it that teachers are said to be inclined to forget?
The practical teaching of languages.
The importance of a good accent.
The principle of phonetic theory.
The teaching of pronunciation in the classroom.
34. The value the student puts on correct speech habits depends upon
how closely he attends to the matter.
whether it is English that is being taught.
his teacher's approach to pronunciation.
the importance normally given to grammar and spelling.
35. According to the text, in relation to someone teaching his own language to foreigners, audio-visual aids can
completely replace his own teaching performance.
provide alternative samples of native speech.
help to improve teaching quality to a great extent.
provide a perfect model for language students to follow.
Text4
The majority of successful senior managers do not closely follow the classical rational model of first clarifying goals, assessing the problem, formulating options, estimating likelihood of success, making a decision, and only then taking action to implement the decision. Rather, in their day-by-day tactical activities, these senior executives rely on what is vaguely termed “intuition” to manage a network of interrelated problems that require them to deal with ambiguity, inconsistency, novelty, and surprise; and to integrate action into the process of thinking.
Generations of writers on management have recognized that some practicing managers rely heavily on intuition. In general, however, such writers display a poor grasp of what intuition is. Some see it as the opposite of rationality; others view it as an excuse of capriciousness.
Isenberg's recent research on the cognitive processes of senior managers reveals that managers' intuition is neither of these. Rather, senior managers use intuition in at least five distinct ways. First, they intuitively sense when a problem exists. Second, managers rely on intuition to perform well-learned behavior patterns rapidly. This intuition is not arbitrary or irrational, but is based on years of painstaking practice and personal experience that build skills. A third function of intuition is to synthesize isolated bits of data and practice into an integrated picture, often in an “Aha!” experience. Fourth, some managers use intuition as a check on the results of more rational analysis. Most senior executives are familiar with the formal decision analysis models and tools, and those who use such systematic methods for reaching decisions are occasionally suspicious of solutions suggested by these methods which run counter to their sense of the correct course of action. Finally, managers can use intuition to bypass in-depth analysis and move rapidly to find out a plausible solution. Used in this way, intuition is an almost instantaneous cognitive process in which a manager recognizes familiar patterns.
One of the implications of the intuitive style of executive management is that “thinking” is inseparable from acting. Since managers often “know” what is right before they can analyze and explain it, they frequently act first and explain later. Analysis is invariably tied to action in thinking/acting cycles, in which managers develop thoughts about their companies and organizations not by analyzing a problematic situation and then acting, but by acting and analyzing in close concert.
Given the great uncertainty of many of the management issues that they face, senior managers often initiate a course of action simply to learn more about an issue. They then use the results of the action to develop a more complete understanding of the issue. One implication of thinking/acting cycles is that action is often part of defining the problem, not just of implementing the solution. (454 words)
Notes: capriciousness 多变，反复无常。run counter to 与…背道而驰;违反。bypass 绕过。in close concert 一齐，一致。given prep. 考虑到，由于。
36. The logical organization of the first paragraph of the text is that
a conventional model is dismissed and an alternative introduced.
the results of recent research are introduced and summarized.
two opposite points of view are presented and evaluated.
a widely accepted definition is presented and qualified.
37. In relation to the “writers on management” mentioned in Para. 2, the text suggests that they
have not based their analyzes on a sufficiently large sample of actual managers.
have relied in drawing their conclusions on what managers say rather than what managers do.
have misunderstood how managers use intuition in making business decisions.
have not acknowledged the role of intuition in managerial practice.
38. According to the text, senior managers use intuition in all of the following ways EXCEPT
to speed up the creation of a solution to a problem.
to identify a problem or bring together different facts.
to initiate clear goals and in the end attain them.
to evaluate possible solutions to a problem.
39. When mentioning “thinking/acting cycles”(in Para. 4), the author is most likely to believe that
a manager analyzes a series of problems and then acts on that analysis.
a manager gathers data by acting and then observes the effects of action.
action and analysis in managerial practice invariably occur simultaneously.
a manager takes action, being able to clarify reasons for that action.
40. According to the text, which of the following would most probably be one major difference in behavior between Manager X, who uses intuition to reach decisions, and Manager Y, who uses only formal decision analysis?
Manager X checks possible solutions to a problem by systematic analysis; Manager Y does not.
Manager X takes action in order to arrive at the solution to a problem; Manager Y does not.
Manager Y draws on years of personal experience in creating a solution to a problem; Manager X does not.
Manager X depends on day-by-day tactical activities; Manager Y does not.
Part B
Directions:
You are going to read a text about stress, followed by a list of arguments. Choose the best argument from the list A—G for each numbered subheading (41—45). There are two extra arguments which you do not need to use. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)
41. Two types of stress:
There are basically two types of stress placed on human beings—physical and mental.
42. Effects of stress—physical or emotional:
Whether physical or emotional in origin, stress causes the body to react in the same way.
43. Guilty—useful, though most harmful:
Probably the most harmful of all the stresses is guilt.
44. Instances—no need to feel guilty:
However, many of us as children learned rules that we no longer need.
No one is perfect:
Guilt and the worry that often accompanies this major stress are difficult to eradicate, but people subject to excessive guilt feelings should realize, as simple as it sounds, that no one is perfect. People cannot always be cheerful and helpful to every one they meet. Another good lesson is that mistakes should be forgotten, not lingered over and brought out to examine periodically.
45. Life with a little stress—significant:
A life without stress, such as retirement with nothing to do, would be boring.
Notes: respiration 呼吸。pupil瞳孔。dilate 膨胀。perspiration 出汗，勤奋。date 约会。sour 使别扭。eradicate vt. 消除，根除。at best 充其量。linger over 细细品味。meditation深思，沉思。might as well 不妨。
Fat adults should no longer feel guilty about leaving a little food on the plate, a successful businessman need not feel guilty about spending a little too much money on a vacation, nor should he feel guilty that he can combine a business trip to the West Coast with some swimming and golf at an ocean resort. But many people do feel guilty over such apparently innocent actions. Excessive guilt can sour all of life and make life not worth living; it can also cause self-hatred as well as other fears and anxieties that cause all life's successes to be bittersweet, at best.
Stress from physical activity, if not carried too far, is actually beneficial. Exercise relaxes you and may help forget about mental and emotional stress. But mental stress is almost always bad for you. If mental stress is unrelieved, it can actually cause diseases such as ulcers, migraine headaches, heart problems, or mental illness.
Just as we need a little guilt—to keep us correct—and a little worry—to make us plan ahead—we need a little stress to stay interested in life. But when stress begins to bother you, you might as well change your routine. Take your mind off your worries with some physical activity; you may discover a solution you have overlooked before.
Stress is a natural part of everyday life and there is no way to avoid it. In fact, it is not the bad thing it is often supposed to be. A certain amount of stress is vital to provide motivation and give purpose to life. It is only when the stress gets out of control that it can lead to poor performance and ill health.
Some people are not afraid of stress, and such characters are obviously prime material for managerial responsibilities, others lose heart at the first signs of unusual difficulties.
In the first stage, your body prepares to meet the stress. The heartbeat and respiration rates increase, and the pupils of the eyes dilate; the blood sugar level increases, and the rate of perspiration speeds up, while digestion slows down as blood and muscular activity is diverted elsewhere. In the second stage, your body returns to normal and repairs any damage caused by the stressful situation. However, if stress continues, the body cannot repair itself, and the final stage, exhaustion, then begins. If this stage continues, if for example you are frustrated by your work and continue to be frustrated for a long time, physical or emotional damage will occur. These stages of stress reaction are always the same, whether the stress is caused by a cross-country run, a first date, buying a house, or narrowly missing an automobile accident.
This common emotion is useful to have when it helps us to realize that we have, in fact, committed some error, violated our own rules or social rules. If we did not feel guilty, we would never do anything except the things that brought us immediate pleasure—we'd never obey the law, work, exercise, or even study in school, unless we wanted to do so in the first place. As a person's conscience develops, guilt feelings become inevitable; guilt is the sorrow we experience when we know we have done something incorrect.
Part C
Directions:
Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese. Your translation should be written clearly on ANSWER SHEET 2. (10 points)
As civilization proceeds in the direction of technology, it passes the point of supplying all the basic essentials of life—food, shelter, clothes, and warmth. 46) Then we either raise our standard of living above the necessary for comfort and happiness or leave it at this level and work shorter hours. Mankind has probably chosen the latter alternative. Men will be working shorter and shorter hours in their paid employment. And the great majority of the housewives will wish to be relieved completely of the routine operations of the home such as washing the clothes or washing up.
47) By far the most logical step to relieve the housewife of routine is to provide a robot slave which can be trained to meet the requirements of a particular home and can be programmed to carry out half a dozen or more standard operations, when so switched by the housewife. 48) It will be a machine having no more emotions than a car, but having a memory for instructions and a limited degree of instructed or builtin adaptability according to the positions in which it finds various types of objects. It will operate other more specialized machines, for example, the vacuum cleaner or clotheswashing machine.
There are no problems in the production of such a domestic robot to which we do not have already the glimmering of a solution. When I have discussed this kind of device with housewives, some 90 percent of them have the immediate reaction, “How soon can I buy one?” The other 10 percent have the reaction, “I would be terrified to have it moving about my house.” 49) But when one explains to them that it could be switched off or unplugged or stopped without the slightest difficulty, or made to go and put itself away in a cupboard at any time, they quickly realize that it is a highly desirable object. 50) Now it is generally recognized that there is no greater pleasure than to go to bed in the evening and know that the washing up is being done downstairs after one is asleep. Most families are now delighted, no doubt, to have a robot slave doing all the downstairs housework after they were in bed at night. (376 words)
Notes: glimmering迹象。
Section Ⅲ Writing
Part A
51. Directions:
You have just received a short message from your father informing that your mother is very ill and you want to ask for one weeks leave. Write a note(便笺) to your Office Head Mr. Wang about it.
You should write about 100 words on ANSWER SHEET 2.
Do not sign your own name at the end of the note. Use “Li Ming” instead.
Do not write the address.
Part B
52. Directions:
Write an essay of 160—200 words based on the following set of pictures. In your essay, you should
1) describe the pictures briefly,
2) interpret their intended meaning, and
3) point out their implications in our life.
You should write neatly on ANSWER SHEET 2. (20 points)
页:
[1]