北京科技大学考博英语真题,考博英语试题

北京科技大学2005年博士研究生入学考试英语试题
Ph. D Entrance Examination in English
2005.04

注意：答案务必写在答题纸上，写在试题上一律无效！！！

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Part I Vocabulary (0.5 point each)
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Section A (7.5 points, 0.5 point each)
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Directions: There are 15 questions in this section. Each question is a sentence with one
word or phrase underlined. Below the sentence are four words or phrases marked A, B, C
and D. Choose the word or phrase that is closest in meaning to the underlined one. Mark
the corresponding letter on your Answer Sheet.

1. Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who cut through argument, debate and
doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand and remember.
A) do away with B) bring to end C) sum up D) resolve

2. William Penn planned Philadelphia as the "holy city", carefully laid out so that each
house would have the appearance of a country cottage to avoid the density.
A) worked out B) put out C) designed D) constructed

3. Jane courteously invited him to take a glass of wine with them.
A) decisively B) straightforwardly C) politely D) indirectly

4. He always has a penetrating mind in analyzing difficult problems like these.
A) indifferent B) intelligent C) permeating D) careful

5. Millions of farmers, drawn by the prospect of employment, came into the city which made
the problems of transportation and housing even more serious.
A) prosperity B) expectation C) anticipation D) probability

6. Some children display an unquenchable curiosity about every new thing they encounter.
A) insatiable B) inherent C) indiscriminate D) incredible

7. She feels herself superior to her twin sister in appearance and education.
A) better than B) worse than C) as good as D) no better than

8. I admire him so much because he seems always calm and witty at critical moments.
A) stretching B) important C) miraculous D) private

9. It is only when you live in close proximity with him that you discover his personality.
A) distance B) circle C) community D) nearness

10. Cross-country bicycle racing, came into being early in the 20th century in France, was
current in the 1920s and became prominent in the 1950s.
A) generated B) originated C) sponsored D) proclaimed

11. President Roosevelt's words turned the sinking of the American fleet at Pearl Harbor
into a national rallying cry instead of a humiliating national scandal.
A) discouraging B) disastrous C) disgraceful D) destructive

12. Frequent exposure to perilous substances will lead to a gradual deterioration of health.
A) hazardous B) radioactive C) wasteful D) artificial

13. The National Institute of Mental Health is conducting far-reaching research to determine
the psychological effects of using drugs.
A) extensive B) refined C) prevalent D) serious

14. The Lincoln Memorial is built out of respect for President Lincoln who made great
contribution to the emancipation of the blacks.
A) in honor of B) passing for C) in the eyes of D) standing up for

15. Our assumption that the Gulf War would soon come to an end was proved right.
A) consumption B) presumption C) imagination D) deduction

Section B (7.5 points, 0.5 point each)
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Directions: There are 15 sentences in this section. There are four words or phrases marked
A), B), C) and D) under each of the following sentences. Choose the one word or phrase that
best completes the sentence. Mark the corresponding letter on your Answer Sheet.

16. Call your doctor for advice if the ________ persist for more than a few days.
A) responses B) signals C) symptoms D) reflections

17. The Japanese scientists have found that scents ________ efficiency and reduce stress
among office workers.
A) enhance B) amplify C) foster D) magnify

18. The club will ________ new members the first week in September.
A) register B) subscribe C) enroll D) absorb

19. I think she hurt my feelings ________ rather than by accident as she claimed.
A) virtually B) deliberately C) literally D) appropriately

20. Within ten years they have tamed the ________ hill into green woods.
A) vacant B) barren C) weird D) wasteful

21. Jack was about to announce our plan but I ________.
A) put him through B) turned him out C) gave him up D) cut him short

22. Do you have any ________ about what living beings on other planets would be like?
A) ideal B) comprehension C) notion D) intelligence

23. He might have been killed ________ the arrival of the police.
A) except for B) but for C) with D) for

24. Many years had ________ before they returned to their original urban areas.
A) floated B) elapsed C) skipped D) proceeded

25. Improved consumer confidence is ________ to an economic recovery.
A) crucial B) subordinate C) cumulative D) satisfactory

26. We should be able to do the job for you quickly, ________ you give us all the necessary
information.
A) in case B) provided that C) or else D) as if

27. The day before my history exam, I still hadn't ________ reading the first book on the
list.
A) see about B) caught up with C) got round to D) sat for

28. They used to quarrel a lot, but now they are completely ________ with each other.
A) reconciled B) negotiated C) associated D) accommodated

29. In order to keep the line moving, customers with lengthy ________ are required to do
their banking inside.
A) transit B) transactions C) turnover D) tempos

30. Doctors are often caught in a ________ because they have to decide whether they
should tell their patients the truth or not.
A) puzzle B) bewilderment C) dilemma D) perplexity

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Part II Cloze Test (20 points, 1 point each)
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Directions: For each numbered blank in the following passage, there are four choices
marked A), B), C), and D). Choose the best one and mark your answer on your Answer
Sheet.

There is virtually no limit to how one can serve community interests, from spending a
few hours a week with some charitable organization to practically full-time work for a social
agency. Just as there are opportunities for voluntary service 31 (VSO) for young people
before they take up full-time employment, 32 there are opportunities for overseas service
for 33 technicians in developing countries. Some people, 34 those who retire early. 35
their technical and business skills in countries 36 there is a special need.

So in considering voluntary or 37 community service there are more opportunities than
there 38 were when one first began work. Most voluntary organizations have only a small
full-time 39, and depend very much on volunteers and part-timers. This means that working
relationships are different from those in commercial organizations, and values may be
different. 40 some ways they may seem more casual and less efficient, but one should not
41 them by commercial criteria. The people who work with them do so for different reasons
and with different 42, both personal and 43. One should not join them 44 to arm them
with professional expertise; they must be joined with commitment to the 45, not business
efficiency. Because salaries are 46 or non-existent many voluntary bodies offer modest
expenses. But many retired people take part in community service for 47, simply because
they enjoy the work.

Many community activities possible 48 retirement were also possible during one's
working life but they are to be undertaken 49 seriously for that. Retired people who are
just looking for something different or unusual to do should not consider 50 community
service.

31.
A) oversea B) over sea C) overseas D) overseas

32.
A) as B) so C) then D) that

33.
A) quantity B) qualifying C) quality D) qualified

34.
A) partially B) partly C) particularly D) passionately

35.
A) order B) operate C) offer D) occupy

36.
A) which B) where C) as D) that

37.
A) paying B) paid C) to be paid D) pay

38.
A) before B) lately C) never D) ever

39.
A) team B) number C) staff D) crowd

40.
A) in B) by C) with D) through

41.
A) look at B) comment C) enjoy D) judge

42.
A) subjective B) subject C) objectives D) objects

43.
A) organization B) organizational C) organized D) organizing

44.
A) expecting B) to expect C) being expected D) expected

45.
A) course B) cause C) case D) caution

46.
A) little B) small C) large D) big

47.
A) free B) money C) freedom D) something

48.
A) before B) on C) in D) at

49.
A) much B) very much C) no more D) no less

50.
A) to be taken B) to take C) taking D) being taken

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Part III Reading Comprehension (30 points)
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Section A (20 points, 1 point each)
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Directions: In this part of the test, there are four short passages for you to read. Read
each passage carefully, and then do the questions that follow. Choose the best answer
A), B), C), or D) and mark the corresponding letter on your Answer Sheet.

Passage One

The custom of sending the gullible on fool's errands and of playing other practical jokes
on April 1 has been around since at least the Middle Ages and has elicited more than its
share of joking explanations. The two most popular ones in the nineteenth century, according
to E. Cobham Brewer, were that April was a month of fickle (that is, "fooling") weather, and
that the Jews started the custom during Jesus's passion, by sending him on fool's errands to
various magistrates (Annas, Caiaphas, Herod, finally Pilate) before his crucifixion. An
eighteenth-century journalist related the custom to Noah's error of "sending the dove out of
the ark before the water had abated" on a date that corresponded to our April 1.

William Walsh rightly ridiculed these speculations and offered a more plausible one.
Until 1564, he pointed out, March 25 marked the European New Year, and the festivities
associated with its arrival typically lasted eight days, until April 1. With the calendar
change of that year, the New Year became January 1, but not everyone immediately got the
message. Those who continued to make the New Year's visits and to offer the traditional
presents on April 1 would have been accounted April Fools, and eventually these bona fide
courtesies were replaced by "pretended gifts and mock ceremonial visits."

That explains why fooling should have become associated with the beginning of April,
but, as Walsh himself makes clear, the concept of a day devoted to foolishness is older than
the sixteenth century. Both the Roman Saturnalia (沙特恩节) and the medieval Feast of
Fools provided opportunities for the overturning of conventional reason, and indeed the
overturning of the social order itself. Slaves were freed at the Saturnalia, and Boy
Bishops, Mock Kings, and Lords of Misrule were elected during the Middle Ages. Harvey
Cox, in his provocative study of the Feast of Fools, emphasizes its "implicitly radical
dimension," and places it within a social context whose flexibility was its capacity for
self-mockery. "The divine right of kings, papal infallibility (天主教皇百罪不侵), and
the modern totalitarian state," he writes, "all flowered after the Feast of Fools
disappeared."

51. Which of the following can best tell the main idea of this passage?
    A) The custom of April Fools
    B) The history of April Fools
    C) The account of April Fools
    D) The practice of April Fools.

52. Which of the following statements was NOT mentioned among the interpretations of April
1. festival.
    A) It originated from the Jews' custom.
    B) It was related to Noah's error.
    C) It came from the calendar change of the European New Year.
    D) It was the day of sending presents to foolish people.

53. Which of the following words can best describe William Walsh's explanation on April 1st?
    A) reasonable
    B) factual
    C) practical
    D) sensible

54. According to Walsh, April Fools can most probably be dated back to ________.
    A) the Middle Ages
    B) earlier than the sixteenth century
    C) the eighteenth century
    D) the nineteenth century

55. What is associated with the Feast of Fools?
    A) the overturning of the Roman Saturnalia
    B) the disappearing of infallibility of the Pope
    C) the production of totalitarianism
    D) the freedom of slaves

Passage Two

It is hardly necessary for me to cite all the evidence of the depressing state of
literacy. These figures from the Department of Education are sufficient: 27 million
Americans cannot read at all, and a further 35 million read at a level that is less than
sufficient to survive in our society.

But my own worry today is less that of the overwhelming problem of elemental literacy
than it is of the slightly more luxurious problem of the decline in the skill even of the
middle-class reader, of his unwillingness to afford those spaces of silence, those luxuries of
domesticity and time and concentration, that surround the image of the classic act of
reading. It has been suggested that almost 80 percent of America's literate, educated
teenagers can no longer read without an accompanying noise (music) in the background or a
television screen flickering (闪烁) at the corner of their field of perception. We know very
little about the brain and how it deals with simultaneous conflicting input, but every
common-sense intuition suggests we should be profoundly alarmed. This violation of
concentration, silence, solitude (独处的状态) goes to the very heart of our notion of
literacy; this new form of part-reading, of part-perception against background distraction,
renders impossible certain essential acts of apprehension and concentration, let alone that
most important tribute any human being can pay to a poem or a piece of prose he or she
really loves, which is to learn it by heart. Not by brain, by heart; the expression is vital.

Under these circumstances, the question of what future there is for the arts of reading is
a real one. Ahead of us lie technical, psychic (心理上的), and social transformations
probably much more dramatic than those brought about by Gutenberg, the German inventor in
printing. The Gutenberg revolution, as we now know it, took a long time; its effects are still
being debated. The information revolution will touch every fact of composition, publication,
distribution, and reading. No one in the book industry can say with any confidence what
will happen to the book as we've known it.

56. The picture of the reading ability of the American people, drawn by the author, is
________.
A) fairly bright B) rather bleak
C) quite encouraging D) very impressive

57. The author's biggest concern is ________.
    A) the surprisingly low rate of literacy in the U. S.
    B) the musical setting American readers require for reading
    C) the reading ability and reading behavior of the middle class
    D) elementary school children's disinterest in reading classics

58. A major problem with most adolescents who can read is ________.
    A) their fondness of music and TV programs
    B) their inability to focus on conflicting input
    C) their ignorance of various forms of art and literature
    D) their lack of attentiveness and basic understanding

59. The author claims that the best way a reader can show admiration for a piece of poetry or
prose is ________.
    A) to be able to appreciate it and memorize it
    B) to make a fair appraisal of its artistic value
    C) to think it over conscientiously
    D) to analyze its essential features

60. About the future of the arts of reading the author feels ________.
A) upset B) alarmed C) pessimistic D) uncertain

Passage Three

In the world of entertainment, TV talk shows have undoubtedly flooded every inch of
space on daytime television. And anyone who watches them regularly knows that each one
varies in style and format. But no two shows are more profoundly opposite in content, while
at the same time standing out above the rest, than the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey
shows.

Jerry Springer could easily be considered the king of "trash talk (废话)". The topics
on his show are as shocking as can be. For example, the show takes the ever-common talk
show themes of love, sex, cheating, guilt, hate, conflict and morality to a different level.
Clearly, the Jerry Springer show is a display and exploitation of society's moral catastrophes
(灾难), yet people are willing to eat up the intriguing predicaments (困境) of other
people's lives.

Like Jerry Springer, Oprah Winfrey takes TV talk show to its extreme, but Oprah goes in
the opposite direction. The show focuses on the improvement of society and an individual's
quality of life. Topics range from teaching your children responsibility, managing your work
week, to getting to know your neighbors.

Compared to Oprah, the Jerry Springer show looks like poisonous waste being dumped on
society. Jerry ends every show with a "final word". He makes a small speech that sums up
the entire moral of the show. Hopefully, this is the part where most people will learn
something very valuable.

Clean as it is, the Oprah show is not for everyone. The show's main target audience are
middle-class Americans. Most of these people have the time, money, and stability to deal
with life's tougher problems. Jerry Springer, on the other hand, has more of an association
with the young adults of society. These are 18-to 21-year-olds whose main troubles in life
involve love, relationship, sex, money and peers. They are the ones who see some value and
lessons to be learned underneath the show's exploitation.

While the two shows are as different as night and day, both have ruled the talk show
circuit for many years now. Each one caters to a different audience while both have a strong
following from large groups of fans. Ironically, both could also be considered pioneers in
the talk show world.

61. Compared with other TV talk shows, both the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey are
________.
    A) more family-oriented
    B) unusually popular
    C) more profound
    D) relatively formal

62. Though the social problems Jerry Springer talks about appear distasteful, the audience
________.
    A) remain indifferent to them
    B) are ready to face up to them
    C) remain fascinated by them
    D) are willing to get involved in them

63. Which of the following is likely to be a topic of the Oprah Winfrey show?
    A) A new type of robot.
    B) Racist hatred.
    C) Family budget planning.
    D) Street violence.

64. Despite their different approaches, the two talk shows are both ________.
A) ironical B) sensitive C) instructive D) cynical

65. We can learn from the passage that the two talk shows ________.
    A) have monopolized the talk show circuit
    B) exploit the weaknesses in human nature
    C) appear at different times of the day
    D) are targeted at different audiences

Passage Four

If you are a fan of science fiction, you've no doubt encountered the term
nanotechnology. Yet over the past year also, a series of breakthroughs have transformed
nanotech from sci-fi fantasy into a real-world, applied science, and in the process, inspired
huge investments by business, academia, and government. In industries as diverse as
health care, computers, chemicals, and aerospace, nanotech is overhauling production
techniques, resulting in new and improved products, some of which may already be in your
home or workplace.

The inspiration for nanotech goes back to a 1959 speech by the late physicist Richard
Feynman, then a professor at the California Institute of Technology, titled "There's Plenty
of Room at the Bottom." Four decades later, Chad Mirkin, a chemistry professor at
Northwestern University's $34 million nanotech center, used a nanoscale device to etch
most of Feynman's speech onto a surface the size of about 10 tobacco smoke particles.

What accounts for the sudden acceleration of nanotechnology? A key breakthrough came in
1990, when researchers at IBM's Almaden Research Center succeeded in rearranging individual
atoms at will. Using a device known as a scanning probe microscope, the team slowly moved
35 atoms to spell the three-letter IBM logo, thus proving Feynman right. The entire Logo
was less than three nanometers.

Soon, scientists were not only manipulating individual atoms but "spray painting" with
them as well. Using a tool known as a molecular beam epitaxy, scientists have learned to
create ultrafine films of specialized crystals, built up one molecular layer at a time. This
is the technology used today to build read-head components for computer hard drives.

The next stage in the development of nanotechnology borrows a page from nature. Building
a supercomputer no bigger than a speck of dust might seem an impossible task, until one
realizes that evolution solved such problems more than a billion years ago. Living cells
contain all sorts of nanoscale motors made of proteins that perform myriad mechanical and
chemical functions, from muscle contraction to photosynthesis. In some instances, such
motors may be re-engineered, or imitated, to produce products and processes useful to
humans.

How are these biologically inspired machines constructed? Often, they construct
themselves, manifesting a phenomenon of nature known as self assembly. The macromolecules
of such biological machines have exactly the right shape and chemical binding preferences to
ensure that when they combine they will snap together in predesigned ways. For example, the
two strands that make up DNA's double helix match each other exactly, which means that if
they are separated in a complex chemical mixture, they are still able to find each other
easily.

66. It can be inferred that Richard Feynman has been ________ now.
A) dead B) decent C) prominent D) popular

67. Who proved that Feynman's concept, "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom" was right?
    A) Chad Mirkin at Northwestern University.
    B) Researchers at Almaden Research Center.
    C) Scientists manipulating atoms and "spray painting".
    D) A professor at the California Institute of Technology.

68. Scientists created ultrafine films of specialized crystals by means of ________.
    A) a scanning probe microscope
    B) a nanoscale device
    C) a molecular beam epitaxy
    D) a super computer

69. Which of the following is the function that nanoscale motors perform?
    A) rearranging individual atoms
    B) manipulating individual atoms
    C) producing products and process
    D) photosynthesis and muscle concentration

70. According to the passage, all of the following statements are true EXCEPT ________.
    A) The two strands making up DNA's double helix can find each other easily in a complex
       chemical mixture.
    B) Evolution has solved the problem of building a computer smaller than a speck of dust
       a long time before.
    C) DNA not only programs cells to replicate themselves but also instructs them how to
       assemble individual molecules into new materials.
    D) The read-head components for computer hard drives are constructed by means of the
       technology known as a molecular beam epitaxy.

Section B (10 points)
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Directions: In this section, there is a passage with five questions. After you have read the
passage, answer these questions in English.

Priscilla Ouchida's "energy-efficient" house turned out to be a horrible dream. When she
and her engineer husband married a few years ago, they built a $100,000, three-bedroom
home in California. Tightly sealed to prevent air leaks, the house was equipped with small
double-paned windows and several other energy-saving features. Problems began as soon as
the couple moved in, however. Priscilla's eyes burned. Her throat was constantly dry. She
suffered from headaches and could hardly sleep. It was as though she had suddenly
developed a strange illness.

Experts finally traced the cause of her illness. The level of formaldehyde (甲醛) gas in
her kitchen was twice the maximum allowed by federal standards for chemical workers. The
source of the gas? Her new kitchen cabinets and wall-to-wall carpeting.

The Ouchidas are victims of indoor air pollution, which is not given sufficient attention
partly because of the nation's drive to save energy. The problem itself isn't new. "The indoor
environment was dirty long before energy conservation came along," Says Moschandreas, a
pollution scientist at Geomet Technologies in Maryland. "Energy conservation has tended to
accentuate the situation in some cases."

The problem appears to be more troublesome in newly constructed homes rather than
old ones. Back in the days when energy was cheap, home builders didn't worry much about
unsealed cracks. Because of such leaks, the air in an average home was replaced by fresh
outdoor air about once an hour. As a result, the pollutants generated in most households
seldom built up to dangerous levels.

71. From what point of view is the Ouchidas' house ideal?
________________________________________________________________________

72. What made the Ouchidas' new house a horrible dream?
________________________________________________________________________

73. What does "the problem" refer to in the second sentence of the 3rd paragraph?
________________________________________________________________________

74. Why were cracks in old houses not a big concern?
________________________________________________________________________

75. What lesson can be learned from Priscilla Ouchida's experience?
________________________________________________________________________

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Part IV Translation (20 points)
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Section A (10 points)
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Directions: Translate the following paragraph into Chinese.

Green or sustainable chemistry can contribute to achieving sustainability in three key
areas. First, renewable energy technologies will be the central pillar of a sustainable
high-technology civilization. Chemists can contribute to the development of the
economically feasible conversion of solar into chemical energy and the improvement of solar
to electrical energy conversion. Second, the reagents used by the chemical industry, today
mostly derived from oil, must increasingly be obtained from renewable sources to reduce
our dependence on fossilized carbon. This important area is beginning to flourish, but is not
the subject of this essay. Third, polluting technologies must be replaced by benign
alternatives. This field is receiving considerable attention, but the dedicated research
community is small and is merely scratching the surface of an immense problem that I will
now sketch.

Section B (10 points)
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Directions: Translate the following paragraph into English.

因特网在计算机和通讯领域掀起了一场前所未有的革命。电报、电话、收音机、计
算机的发明为因特网的诞生创造了条件，使各自的功能史无前例地融为一体。因特
网一经出现，立刻使全球广播得以实现，成为信息传播的手段，成为人们和计算机之
间超越地域限制，实现合作与交互的媒介。

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Part V Writing (15 points)
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Directions: Some people argue that English has been overemphasized in China nowadays in
that almost everything from entry into a higher school to employment, promotion, is closely
linked up with one's mastery of English. This has misled students at school into spending
too much of their time on English rather than on their specialties. Do you agree or disagree
with this view? Write an essay of approximately 150 words to support yourself.