Section I Listening
Comprehension
Directions:
This section is designed to test your ability to
understand spoken English. You will hear a selection of
recorded materials and you must answer the questions that
accompany them. There are three parts in this section, Part A,
Part B and Part C.
Remember, while you are doing the test, you should first
put down your answers in your test booklet. At the end of the
listening comprehension section, you will have 5 minutes to
transfer all your answers from your test booklet to ANSWER
SHEET 1.
Now look at Part A in your test booklet.
Part A
Directions:
For questions 1 - 5, you will hear a talk about the
geography of Belgium. While you listen, fill out the table
with the information you have heard. Some of the information
has been given to you in the table. Write only 1 word or
number in each numbered box. You will hear the recording
twice. You now have 25 seconds to read the table below. (5
points)
Part B
Directions:
For Questions 6-10, you will hear an interview with Mr.
Saffo from the Institute for the Future. While you listen,
complete the sentences or answer the questions. Use not more
than 3 words for each answer. You will hear the recording
twice. You now have 25 seconds to read the sentences and
questions below. (5 points)
What is Saffo according to himself?
The Institute for the Future provides services to private
companies and
The Institute believes that to think systematically about
the long-range future is
To succeed in anything, one should be flexible, curious
and
What does Saffo consider to be essential to the work of a
team?
Part C
Directions:
You will hear three pieces of recorded material. Before
listening to each one, you will have time to read the
questions related to it. While listening, answer each question
by choosing A, B, C or D. After listening, you will have time
to check your answers. You will hear each piece once only. (10
points)
Questions 11-13 are based on the following talk about
naming newborns. You now have 15 seconds to read Questions
11-13.
11. What do we often do with the things we love?
[A] Ask for their names.
[B] Name babies after them.
[C] Put down their names.
[D] Choose names for them.
12. The unpleasant meaning of an old family name is often
overlooked if
[A] the family tree is fairly limited.
[B] the family tie is strong enough.
[C] the name is commonly used.
[D] nobody in the family complains.
13. Several months after a baby’s birth, its name will
[A] show the beauty of its own.
[B] develop more associations.
[C] lose the original meaning.
[D] help form the baby’s personality.
Questions 14 - 16 are based on the biography of Bobby
Moore, an English soccer player. You now have 15 seconds to
read Questions 14 - 16.
14. How many matches did Moore play during his
professional career?
[A] 90.
[B] 108.
[C] 180.
[D] 668.
15. In 1964, Bobby Moore was made
[A] England’s footballer of the year.
[B] a soccer coach in West Germany.
[C] a medalist for his sportsmanship.
[D] a number of the Order of the British Empire.
16. After Moore retired from playing, the first thing he
did was
[A] editing Sunday Sport.
[B] working for Capital Radio.
[C] managing professional soccer teams.
[D] developing a sports marketing company.
Questions 17 - 20 are based on the following talk on the
city of Belfast. You now have 20 seconds to read Questions 17
- 20.
17. Belfast has long been famous for its
[A] oil refinery.
[B] linen textiles.
[C] food products.
[D] deepwater port.
18. Which of the following does Belfast chiefly export?
[A] Soap.
[B] Grain.
[C] Steel.
[D] Tobacco.
19. When was Belfast founded?
[A] In 1177.
[B] In 1315.
[C] In the 16th century.
[D] In the 17th century.
20. What happened in Belfast in the late 18th century?
[A] French refugees arrived.
[B] The harbor was destroyed.
[C] Shipbuilding began to flourish.
[D] The city was taken by the English.
You now have 5 minutes to transfer all your answers from
your test booklet to ANSWER SHEET 1.
Section II Use of English
Directions: 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)
Many theories concerning the causes of juvenile
delinquency (crimes committed by young people) focus either on
the individual or on society as the major contributing
influence. Theories (21) ____ on the individual suggest that
children engage in criminal behavior (22) ____ they were not
sufficiently penalized for previous misdeeds or that they have
learned criminal behavior through (23) ____ with others.
Theories focusing on the role of society that children commit
crimes in (24) ____ to their failure to rise above their
socioeconomic status (25) ____ as a rejection of middle-class
values.
Most theories of juvenile delinquency have focused on
children from disadvantaged families, (26) ____ the fact that
children from wealthy homes also commit crimes. The latter may
commit crimes (27) ____ lack of adequate parental control. All
theories, however, are tentative and are (28) ____ to
criticism.
Changes in the social structure may indirectly (29) ____
juvenile crime rates. For example, changes in the economy that
(30) ____ to fewer job opportunities for youth and rising
unemployment (31) ____ make gainful employment increasingly
difficult to obtain. The resulting discontent may in (32) ____
lead more youths into criminal behavior.
Families have also (33) ____ changes these years. More
families consist of one parent households or two working
parents; (34) ____, children are likely to have less
supervision at home (35) ____ was common in the traditional
family (36) ____. This lack of parental supervision is thought
to be an influence on juvenile crime rates. Other (37) ____
causes of offensive acts include frustration or failure in
school, the increased (38) ____ of drugs and alcohol, and the
growing (39) ____ of child abuse and child neglect. All these
conditions tend to increase the probability of a child
committing a criminal act, (40) ____ a direct causal
relationship has not yet been established.
21.[A] acting
[B] relying
[C] centering
[D] cementing
22.[A] before
[B] unless
[C] until
[D] because
23. [A] interactions
[B] assimilation
[C] cooperation
[D] consultation
24. [A] return
[B] reply
[C] reference
[D] response
25. [A] or
[B] but rather
[C] but
[D] or else
26.[A] considering
[B] ignoring
[C] highlighting
[D] discarding
27. [A] on
[B] in
[C] for
[D] with
28. [A] immune
[B] resistant
[C] sensitive
[D] subject
29. [A] affect
[B] reduce
[C] chock
[D] reflect
30. [A] point
[B] lead
[C] come
[D] amount
31. [A] in general
[B] on average
[C] by contrast
[D] at length
32. [A] case
[B] short
[C] turn
[D] essence
33. [A] survived
[B] noticed
[C] undertaken
[D] experienced
34. [A] contrarily
[B] consequently
[C] similarly
[D] simultaneously
35. [A] than
[B] that
[C] which
[D] as
36. [A] system
[B] structure
[C] concept
[D] heritage
37. [A] assessable
[B] identifiable
[C] negligible
[D] incredible
38. [A] expense
[B] restriction
[C] allocation
[D] availability
39. [A] incidence
[B] awareness
[C] exposure
[D] popularity
40. [A] provided
[B] since
[C] although
[D] supposing
Section III Reading Comprehension
Part A
Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the
questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your
mowers on ANSWER SNEET 1. (40 points)
Text 1
Hunting for a job late last year, lawyer Gant Redmon
stumbled across CareerBuilder, a job database on the Internet.
He searched it with no success but was attracted by the site’s
“personal search agent”. It’s an interactive feature that lets
visitors key in job criteria such as location, title, and
salary, then E-mails them when a matching position is posted
in the database. Redmon chose the keywords legal, intellectual
property, and Washington, D.C. Three weeks later, he got his
first notification of an opening. “I struck gold,’ says
Redmon, who E-mailed his resume to the employer and won a
position as in-house counsel for a company.
With thousands of career-related sites on the Internet,
finding promising openings can be time-consuming and
inefficient. Search agents reduce the need for repeated visits
to the databases. But although a search agent worked for
Redmon, career experts see drawbacks. Narrowing your criteria,
for example, may work against you: “Every time you answer a
question you eliminate a possibility.” says one expert.
For any job search, you should start with a narrow
concept —— what you think you want to do —— then broaden it.
“None of these programs do that,” says another expert.
“There’s no career counseling implicit in all of this.”
Instead, the best strategy is to use the agent as a kind of
tip service to keep abreast of jobs in a particular database;
when you get E-mail, consider it a reminder to check the
database again. “I would not rely on agents for finding
everything that is added to a database that might interest
me,” says the author of a job-searching guide.
Some sites design their agents to tempt job hunters to
return. When CareerSite’s agent sends out messages to those
who have signed up for its service, for example, it includes
only three potential jobs —— those it considers the best
matches. There may be more matches in the database; job
hunters will have to visit the site again to find them —— and
they do. “On the day after we send our messages, we see a
sharp increase in our traffic,” says Seth Peets, vice
president of marketing for CareerSite.
Even those who aren’t hunting for jobs may find search
agents worthwhile. Some use them to keep a close watch on the
demand for their line of work or gather information on
compensation to arm themselves when negotiating for a raise.
Although happily employed, Redmon maintains his agent at
CareerBuilder. “You always keep your eyes open,” he says.
Working with a personal search agent means having another set
of eyes looking out for you.
41. How did Redmon find his job?
[A] By searching openings in a job database.
[B] By posting a matching position in a database.
[C] By using a special service of a database.
[D] By E-mailing his resume to a database.
42. Which of the following can be a disadvantage of
search agents?
[A] Lack of counseling.
[B] Limited number of visits.
[C] Lower efficiency.
[D] Fewer successful matches.
43. The expression “tip service” (Line 4, Paragraph 3)
most probably means
[A] advisory.
[B] compensation.
[C] interaction.
[D] reminder.
44. Why does CareerSite’s agent offer each job hunter
only three job options?
[A] To focus on better job matches.
[B] To attract more returning visits.
[C] To reserve space for more messages.
[D] To increase the rate of success.
45. Which of the following is true according to the text?
[A] Personal search agents are indispensable to
job-hunters.
[B] Some sites keep E-mailing job seekers to trace their
demands.
[C] Personal search agents are also helpful to those
already employed.
[D] Some agents stop sending information to people once
they are employed.
Text 2
Over the past century, all kinds of unfairness and
discrimination have been condemned or made illegal. But one
insidious form continues to thrive: alphabetism. This, for
those as yet unaware of such a disadvantage, refers to
discrimination against those whose surnames begin with a
letter in the lower half of the alphabet.
It has long been known that a taxi firm called AAAA cars
has a big advantage over Zodiac cars when customers thumb
through their phone directories. Less well known is the
advantage that Adam Abbott has in life over Zo? Zysman.
English names are fairly evenly spread between the halves of
the alphabet. Yet a suspiciously large number of top people
have surnames beginning with letters between A and K.
Thus the American president and vice-president have
surnames starting with B and C respectively; and 26 of George
Bush’s predecessors (including his father) had surnames in the
first half of the alphabet against just 16 in the second half.
Even more striking, six of the seven heads of government of
the G7 rich countries are alphabetically advantaged
(Berlusconi, Blair, Bush, Chirac, Chrétien and Koizumi). The
world’s three top central bankers (Greenspan, Duisenberg and
Hayami) are all close to the top of the alphabet, even if one
of them really uses Japanese characters. As are the world’s
five richest men (Gates, Buffett, Allen, Ellison and
Albrecht).
Can this merely be coincidence? One theory, dreamt up in
all the spare time enjoyed by the alphabetically
disadvantaged, is that the rot sets in early. At the start of
the first year in infant school, teachers seat pupils
alphabetically from the front, to make it easier to remember
their names. So short-sighted Zysman junior gets stuck in the
back row, and is rarely asked the improving questions posed by
those insensitive teachers. At the time the alphabetically
disadvantaged may think they have had a lucky escape. Yet the
result may be worse qualifications, because they get less
individual attention, as well as less confidence in speaking
publicly.
The humiliation continues. At university graduation
ceremonies, the ABCs proudly get their awards first; by the
time they reach the Zysmans most people are literally having a
ZZZ. Shortlists for job interviews, election ballot papers,
lists of conference speakers and attendees: all tend to be
drawn up alphabetically, and their recipients lose interest as
they plough through them.
46. What does the author intend to illustrate with AAA A
cars and Zodiac cars?
[A] A kind of overlooked inequality.
[B] A type of conspicuous bias.
[C] A type of personal prejudice.
[D] A kind of brand discrimination.
47. What can we infer from the first three paragraphs?
[A] In both East and West, names are essential to
success.
[B] The alphabet is to blame for the failure of Zo?
Zysman.
[C] Customers often pay a lot of attention to companies’
names.
[D] Some form of discrimination is too subtle to
recognize.
48. The 4th paragraph suggests that
[A] questions are often put to the more intelligent
students.
[B] alphabetically disadvantaged students often escape
form class.
[C] teachers should pay attention to all of their
students.
[D] students should be seated according to their
eyesight.
49. What does the author mean by “most people are
literally having a ZZZ” (Lines 2-3, Paragraph 5)?
[A] They are getting impatient.
[B] They are noisily dozing off.
[C] They are feeling humiliated.
[D] They are busy with word puzzles.
50. Which of the following is true according to the text?
[A] People with surnames beginning with N to Z are often
ill-treated.
[B] VIPs in the Western world gain a great deal from
alphabetism.
[C] The campaign to eliminate alphabetism still has a
long way to go.
[D] Putting things alphabetically may lead to
unintentional bias.
Text 3
When it comes to the slowing economy, Ellen Spero isn’t
biting her nails just yet. But the 47-year-old manicurist
isn’t cutting, filling or polishing as many nails as she’d
like to, either. Most of her clients spend $12 to $50 weekly,
but last month two longtime customers suddenly stopped showing
up. Spero blames the softening economy. “I’m a good economic
indicator,” she says. “I provide a service that people can do
without when they’re concerned about saving some dollars.” So
Spero is downscaling, shopping at middle-brow Dillard’s
department store near her suburban Cleveland home, instead of
Neiman Marcus. “I don’t know if other clients are going to
abandon me, too” she says.
Even before Alan Greenspan’s admission that America’s
red-hot economy is cooling, lots of working folks had already
seen signs of the slowdown themselves. From car dealerships to
Gap outlets, sales have been lagging for months as shoppers
temper their spending. For retailers, who last year took in 24
percent of their revenue between Thanksgiving and Christmas,
the cautious approach is coming at a crucial time. Already,
experts say, holiday sales are off 7 percent from last year’s
pace. But don’t sound any alarms just yet. Consumers seem only
concerned, not panicked, and many say they remain optimistic
about the economy’s long-term prospects, even as they do some
modest belt-tightening.
Consumers say they’re not in despair because, despite the
dreadful headlines, their own fortunes still feel pretty good.
Home prices are holding steady in most regions. In Manhattan,
“there’s a new gold rush happening in the $4 million to $10
million range, predominantly fed by Wall Street bonuses,” says
broker Barbara Corcoran. In San Francisco, prices are still
rising even as frenzied overbidding quiets. “Instead of 20 to
30 offers, now maybe you only get two or three,” says john
Deadly, a Bay Area real-estate broker. And most folks still
feel pretty comfortable about their ability to find and keep a
job.
Many folks see silver linings to this slowdown. Potential
home buyers would cheer for lower interest rates. Employers
wouldn’t mind a little fewer bubbles in the job market. Many
consumers seem to have been influenced by stock-market swings,
which investors now view as a necessary ingredient to a
sustained boom. Diners might see an upside, too. Getting a
table at Manhattan’s hot new Alain Ducasse restaurant need to
be impossible. Not anymore. For that, Greenspan & Co. may
still be worth toasting.
51. By “Ellen Spero isn’t biting her nails just yet”(Line
1, Paragraph 1), the author means
[A] Spero can hardly maintain her business.
[B] Spero is too much engaged in her work.
[C] Spero has grown out of her bad habit.
[D] Spero is not in a desperate situation.
52. How do the public feel about the current economic
situation?
[A] Optimistic.
[B] Confused.
[C] Carefree.
[D] Panicked.
53. When mentioning “the $4 million to $10 million range”
(Lines 3-4, Paragraph 3) the author is talking about.
[A] gold market.
[B] real estate.
[C] stock exchange.
[D] venture investment.
54. Why can many people see “silver linings” to the
economic showdown?
[A] They would benefit in certain ways.
[B] The stock market shows signs of recovery.
[C] Such a slowdown usually precedes a boom.
[D] The purchasing power would be enhanced.
55. To which of the following is the author likely to
agree?
[A] A now boom, on the horizon.
[B] Tighten the belt, the single remedy.
[C] Caution all right, panic not.
[D] The more ventures, the more chances.
Text 4
Americans today don’t place a very high value on
intellect. Our heroes are athletes, entertainers, and
entrepreneurs, not scholars. Even our schools are where we
send our children to get a practical education —— not to
pursue knowledge for the sake of knowledge. Symptoms of
pervasive anti-intellectualism in our schools aren’t difficult
to find.
“Schools have always been in a society where practical is
more important than intellectual,” says education writer Diane
Ravitch. “Schools could be a counterbalance.” Razitch’s latest
bock, Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms, traces
the roots of anti-intellectualism in our schools, concluding
they are anything but a counterbalance to the American
distaste for intellectual pursuits.
But they could and should be. Encouraging kids to reject
the life of the mind leaves them vulnerable to exploitation
and control. Without the ability to think critically, to
defend their ideas and understand the ideas of others, they
cannot fully participate in our democracy. Continuing along
this path, says writer Earl Shorris, “We will become a
second-rate country. We will have a less civil society.”
“Intellect is resented as a form of power or privilege,”
writes historian and professor Richard Hofstadter in
Anti-Intellectualism in American life, a Pulitzer Prize
winning book on the roots of anti-intellectualism in US
politics, religion, and education. From the beginning of our
history, says Hofstadter, our democratic and populist urges
have driven us to reject anything that smells of elitism.
Practicality, common sense, and native intelligence have been
considered more noble qualities than anything you could learn
from a book.
Ralph Waldo Emerson and other Transcendentalist
philosophers thought schooling and rigorous book learning put
unnatural restraints on children:“We are shut up in schools
and college recitation rooms for 10 or 15 years and come out
at last with a bellyful of words and do not know a thing.”Mark
Twain’s Huckleberry Finn exemplified American
anti-intellectualism. Its hero avoids being civilized —— going
to school and learning to read —— so he can preserve his
innate goodness.
Intellect, according to Hofstadter, is different from
native intelligence, a quality we reluctantly admire.
Intellect is the critical, creative, and contemplative side of
the mind. Intelligence seeks to grasp, manipulate, re-order,
and adjust, while intellect examines, ponders, wonders,
theorizes, criticizes and imagines.
School remains a place where intellect is mistrusted.
Hofstadter says our country’s educational system is in the
grips of people who “joyfully and militantly proclaim their
hostility to intellect and their eagerness to identify with
children who show the least intellectual promise.”
56. What do American parents expect their children to
acquire in school?
[A] The habit of thinking independently.
[B] Profound knowledge of the world.
[C] Practical abilities for future career.
[D] The confidence in intellectual pursuits.
57. We can learn from the text that Americans have a
history of
[A] undervaluing intellect.
[B] favoring intellectualism.
[C] supporting school reform.
[D] suppressing native intelligence.
58. The views of Ravish and Emerson on schooling are
[A] identical.
[B] similar.
[C] complementary.
[D] opposite.
59. Emerson, according to the text, is probably
[A] a pioneer of education reform.
[B] an opponent of intellectualism.
[C] a scholar in favor of intellect.
[D] an advocate of regular schooling.
60. What does the author think of intellect?
[A] It is second to intelligence.
[B] It evolves from common sense.
[C] It is to be pursued.
[D] It underlies power.
Part B
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)
The relation of language and mind has interested
philosophers for many centuries. (61) The Greeks assumed that
the structure of language had some connection with the process
of thought, which took root in Europe long before people
realized how diverse languages could be.
Only recently did linguists begin the serious study of
languages that were very different from their own. Two
anthropologist-linguists, Franz Boas Edward Sapir, were
pioneers in describing many native languages of North and
South America during the first half of the twentieth century.
(62) We are obliged to them because some of these languages
have since vanished, as the peoples who spoke them died out or
became assimilated and lost their native languages. Other
linguists in the earlier part of this century, however, who
were less eager to deal with bizarre data from “exotic”
language, were not always so grateful. (63) The newly
described languages were often so strikingly different from
the well studied languages of Europe and Southeast Asia that
some scholars even accused Boas and Sapir of fabricating their
data.. Native American languages are indeed different, so much
so in fact that Navajo could be used by the US military as a
code during World War II to send secret messages.
Sapir’s pupil, Benjamin Lee Whorf, continued the study of
American Indian languages. (64) Being interested in the
relationship of language and thought, Whorf developed the idea
that the structure of language determines the structure of
habitual thought in a society. He reasoned that because the
structure of habitual thought in a society. He reasoned that
because it is easier to formulate certain concepts and not
others in a given language, the speakers of that language
think along one track and not along another. (65) Whorf came
to believe in a sort of linguistic determinism which, in its
strongest form, states that language imprisons the mind, and
that the grammatical patterns in a language can produce
far-reaching consequences for the culture of a society. Later,
this idea became to be known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis,
but this term is somewhat inappropriate. Although both Sapir
and Whorf emphasized the diversity of languages ,Sapir himself
never explicitly supported the notion of linguistic
determinism.
Section Ⅳ Writing
66. Directions:
Study the following drawing carefully and write an essay
in which you should
1) describe the drawing.
2) interpret its meaning, and.
3) support your view with examples.
You should write about 200 words neatly on ANSWER SHEET
2.(20 points)
摘自 人民网 2004-1-19 (J-02)
