2008年财科所博士研究生入学考试英语试题
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Part One: Cloze (15 points)
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Direction: There are 15 blanks in the following passage. For each blank there are 4
choices. Please choose the ONE that best fits into the passage, and mark the corresponding
letter on the Answering Sheet.
The normal human daily cycle of activity is some 7-8 hours' sleep alternation with some
16-17 hours' wakefulness and that the sleep normally coincides 1 the hours of darkness.
Our present concern is how easily and to what extent this 2 can be modified.
The question is on mere academic one. The ease with people can change from working in
the day to working at night is a 3 of growing importance in industry where automation
4 round-the-clock working of machines. It normally 5 from five days to one week for a
person to adapt to a 6 routine of sleep and wakefulness, sleeping during the day and
working at night. 7, it is often the case in industry that shifts are changed every week.
This means that no sooner has he got used to one routine 8 he has to change to another,
9 much of his time is spent neither working nor sleeping very 10.
One answer would seem to be 11 periods on each shift, a month, or even three months.
12, recent research has shown that people on such systems will revert to their 13 habits
of sleep and wakefulness during the week-end and that this is quite enough to destroy any
14 to night work built up during the week. The only real solution appears to be to hand
over the night shift to those permanent night workers whose 15 may persist through all
week-ends and holidays.
1.
A. in B. with C. of D. over
2.
A. cycle B. period C. circle D. round
3.
A. problem B. difficulty C. trouble D. matter
4.
A. asks B. invites C. calls for D. reacts to
5.
A. takes B. spends C. demands D. asks
6.
A. former B. returned C. reversed D. regular
7.
A. Therefore B. Unfortunately C. In a word D. In comparison
8.
A. as B. when C. then D. than
9.
A. though B. so that C. while D. as
10.
A. efficiently B. good C. easily D. happily
11.
A. shorter B. better C. longer D. nicer
12.
A. So B. In short C. Similarly D. However
13.
A. new B. normal C. temporary D. favorite
14.
A. change B. return C. adaptation D. tendency
15.
A. wakefulness B. sleep C. preference D. habit
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Part Two: Reading Comprehension (20 Points)
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Directions: There are 4 passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions.
For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should select the best
choice and fill your answer in the Answering Sheet.
Passage 1 (5 points)
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New and bizarre crimes have come into being with the advent of computer technology.
Organized crime has been directly involved, the new technology offers it unlimited
opportunities, such as data crimes, theft of services, property-related crimes, industrial
sabotage (破坏), politically related sabotage, vandalism, crimes against the individual and
financially related crimes. Theft of data, or data crime, has attracted the interest of
organized criminal syndicate. This is usually the theft or copying of valuable computer
program. An international market already exists for computerized data, and specialized
fences are said to be playing a key role in this rapidly expanding criminal market. Buyers
for stolen programs may range from a firm's competitors to foreign nations.
A competitor sabotages a company's computer system to destroy or cripple the firm's
operational ability, thus neutralizing its competitive capability either in the private or
the government sector. This computer sabotage may also be tied to an attempt by affluent
investors to acquire the victim firm. With the growing reliance by firms on computers
for their record keeping and daily operations, sabotage of their computers can result in
internal havoc, after which the group interested in acquiring the firm can easily buy it at
a substantially lower price. Criminal groups could also resort to sabotage if the company
is a competitor of a business owned or controlled by organized crime.
Politically motivated sabotage is on the increase, political extremist groups have
sprung on every continent. Sophisticated computer technology arms these groups with
awesome powers and opens technologically advanced nations to their attack. Several attempts
have already been made to destroy computer facility at an air force base. A university
computer facility involved in national defense work suffered more than $2 million in
damages as a result of bombing.
Computer vulnerability has been documented in great detail. One congressional study
concluded that neither government nor private computer systems are adequately protected
against sabotage. Organized criminal syndicates have shown their willingness to work with
politically motivated groups. Investigators have uncovered evidence of cooperation between
criminal groups and foreign governments in narcotics. Criminal groups have taken attempts
in assassinating political leaders.
Computers are used in hospital life-support system, in laboratories, and in major
surgery. Criminals could easily turn these computers into tools of devastation. By sabotaging
the computer of a life-support system, criminals could kill an individual as easily as they
had used a gun. By manipulating a computer, they could guide awesome tools of terror
against large urban centers. Cities and nations could become hostages. Homicide could take
a new form. The computer may become the hit man of the twentieth century.
The computer opens vast areas of crime to organized criminal groups, both national and
international. It calls on them to pool their resources and increase their cooperative
efforts, because many of these crimes are too complex for one group to handle, especially
those requiring a vast network of fences. Although criminals have adapted to computer
technology, law enforcement has not. Many still think in terms of traditional criminology.
1. How many kinds of crimes are mentioned in the passage?
A. 7. B. 8. C. 9. D. 10.
2. What is the purpose of a competitor to sabotage a company's computer?
A. His purpose is to destroy or weaken the firm's operational ability.
B. His purpose is to weaken firm's competitive capability and get it.
C. His purpose is to buy the rival's company at a relatively low price.
D. His purpose is to steal important data.
3. Which of the following can be labeled as a politically motivated sabotage of a
computer system?
A. Sabotage of a university computer.
B. Sabotage of a hospital computer.
C. Sabotage of computer at a secret training base.
D. Sabotage of a factory computer.
4. What does the author mean by "Homicide could take a new form"?
A. There is no need to use a gun in killing a person.
B. Criminals can kill whoever they want by a computer.
C. The computer can replace any weapons.
D. The function of a computer is just like a gun.
5. What does the word "homicide" possibly mean in Paragraph 5?
A. Kill people at home. B. Murdering. C. Terrorist. D. Crime.
Passage 2 (6 points)
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This month Singapore passed a bill that would give legal teeth to the moral obligation
to support one's parents. Called the Maintenance of Parents Bill, it received the backing of
the Singapore government.
That does not mean it hasn't generated discussion. Several members of the Parliament
opposed the measure as un-Asian. Others who acknowledged the problem of the elderly poor
believed it a disproportionate response. Still others believe it will subvert relations
within the family, cynics dubbed it the "Sue Your Son" law.
Those who say that the bill does not promote filial responsibility, of course, are
right. It has nothing to do with filial responsibility. It kicks in where filial
responsibility fails. The law cannot legislate filial responsibility any more than it can
legislate love. All the law can do is to provide a safety net where this morality proves
insufficient. Singapore needs this bill not to replace morality, but to provide incentives
to shore it up.
Like many other developed nations, Singapore faces the problems of an increasing
proportion of people over 60 years of age. Demography is inexorable in 1980, 7.2% of the
population was in this bracket. At the turn of the century, that figure grew to 11%. By
2030, the proportion is projected to be 26%. The problem is not old age per se. It is that
the ratio of economically active people to economically inactive people will decline.
But no amount of government exhortation or paternalism will completely eliminate the
problem of old people who have insufficient means to make ends meet. Some people will fall
through the holes in any safety net.
Traditionally, a person's insurance against poverty in his old age was his family. This
is not a revolutionary concept, nor is it uniquely Asian. Care and support for one's
parents is a universal value shared by all civilized societies.
The problem in Singapore is that the moral obligation to look after one's parents is
unenforceable. A father can be compelled by law to maintain his children. A husband can be
forced to support his wife. But, until now, a son or daughter had no legal obligation to
support his or her parents.
In 1989, an Advisory Council was set up to look into the problems of the aged. Its
report stated with a tinge of complacency that 95% of those who did not have their own
income were receiving cash contributions from relations. But what about the 5% who aren't
getting relatives' support? They have several options: (a) get a job that they will do
until they die, (b) apply for public assistance (you have to be destitute to apply), or
(c) starve quietly. None of these options is socially acceptable. And what if this 5% figure
grows, as it is likely to do, as society ages?
The Maintenance of Parents Bill was put forth to encourage the traditional virtues
that have so far kept Asian nations from some of the breakdowns encountered in other
affluent societies. This legislation will allow a person to apply to the court for
maintenance from any or all of his children. The court would have the discretion to refuse
to make an order if it is unjust.
Those who deride the proposal for opening up the courts to family lawsuits miss the
point. Only in extreme cases would any parent take his child to court. If it does indeed
become law, the bill's effect would be far more subtle.
First, it will reaffirm the notion that it is each individual's—not society's—
responsibility to look after his parents. Singapore is still conservative enough that most
people will not object to this idea. It reinforces the traditional values and it doesn't
hurt a society now and then to remind itself of its core values.
Second, and more important, it will make those who are inclined to shirk their
responsibilities think twice. Until now, if a person asked family elders, clergymen or
the Ministry of Community Development to get financial support from his children, the
most they could do was to mediate. But mediators have no teeth, and a child could simply
ignore their pleas.
But to be sued by one's parents would be a massive loss of face. It would be a public
disgrace. Few people would be so thick-skinned as to say. "Sue and be damned". The hand
of the conciliator would be immeasurably strengthened. It is far more likely that some
sort of amicable settlement would be reached if the recalcitrant son or daughter knows that
the alternative is a public trial.
It would be nice to think that Singapore doesn't need this kind of law. But that
belief ignores the clear demographic trends and the effect of affluence itself on
traditional bonds. Those of us who pushed for the bill will consider ourselves most
successful if acts as an incentive not to have it invoked in the first place.
6. The Maintenance of Parents Bill ______.
A. received unanimous support in the Singapore Parliament
B. was believed to solve all the problems of the elderly poor
C. was intended to substitute for traditional values in Singapore
D. was passed to make the young more responsible to the old
7. By quoting the growing percentage points of the aged in the population, the author seems
to imply that ______.
A. the country will face mounting problems of the old in future
B. the social welfare system would be under great pressure
C. young people should be given more moral education
D. the old should be provided with means of livelihood
8. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?
A. Filial responsibility in Singapore is enforced by law.
B. Fathers have legal obligations to look after their children.
C. It is an acceptable practice for the old to continue working.
D. The Advisory Council was dissatisfied with the problems of the old.
9. The author seems to suggest that traditional values ______.
A. play an insignificant role in solving social problems
B. are helpful to the elderly when they sue their children
C. are very important in preserving Asian uniqueness
D. are significant in helping the Bill get approved
10. The author thinks that if the Bill becomes law, its effect would be ______.
A. indirect B. unnoticed C. apparent D. straightforward
11. At the end of the passage, the author seems to imply that success of the Bill depends
upon ______.
A. strict enforcement B. public support C. government assurance D. filial awareness
Passage 3 (4 points)
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Pundits who want to sound judicious are fond of warning against generalizing. Each
country is different, they say, and no one story fits all of Asia. This is, of course,
silly: all of these economies plunged into economic crisis within a few months of each
other, so they must have had something in common.
In fact, the logic of catastrophe was pretty much the same in Thailand, Malaysia,
Indonesia and South Korea. (Japan is a very different story.) In each case investors—
mainly, but not entirely, foreign banks who had made short-term loans—all tried to pull
their money out at the same time. The result was a combined banking and currency crisis:
a banking crisis because no bank can convert all its assets into cash on short notice; a
currency crisis because panicked investors were trying not only to convert long-term
assets into cash, but to convert baht or rupiah into dollars. In the face of the stampede,
governments had no good options. If they let their currencies plunge, inflation would
soar and companies that had borrowed in dollars would go bankrupt, if they tried to
support their currencies by pushing up interest rates, the same firms would probably go
bust from the combination of debt burden and recession. In practice, countries split the
difference—and paid a heavy price regardless.
Was the crisis a punishment for bad economic management? Like most clichés, the
catchphrase "crony capitalism" has prospered because it gets at something real:
excessively cozy relationships between government and business really did lead to a lot
of bad investments. The still primitive financial structure of Asian business also made
the economies peculiarly vulnerable to loss of confidence. But the punishment was
surely disproportionate to the crime, and many investments that look foolish in
retrospect seemed sensible at the time.
Given that there were no good policy options, was the policy response mainly on the
right track? There was frantic blame-shifting when everything in Asia seemed to be going
wrong now there is a race to claim credit when some things have started to go right. The
International Monetary Fund points to Korea's recovery—and more generally the fact that
the sky didn't fall apart—as proof that its policy recommendations were right. Never mind
that other IMF clients have done far worse, and that the economy of Malaysia—which
refused IMF help, and horrified respectable opinion by imposing capital controls—also seems
to be on the mend. Malaysia's Prime Minister, by contrast, claims full credit for any
good news—even though neighboring economies also seem to have bottomed out.
The truth is that an observer without any ax to grind would probably conclude that
none of the policies adopted either on or in defiance of the IMF's advice made much
difference either way. Budget policies, interest policies, banking reform—whatever
countries tried, just about all the capital that could flee, did. And when there was no
more money to run, the natural recuperative powers of the economies finally began to
prevail. At best, the money doctors who purported to offer cures provided a helpful
bedside manner. At worst, they were like medieval physicians who prescribed bleeding as a
remedy for all ills.
Will the upswing stage a full recovery? It depends on exactly what you mean by "full".
South Korea's industrial production is already above its pre-crisis level, but in the
spring of 1997 anyone who had predicted zero growth in Korea industry over the next two
years would have been regarded as a reckless doomsayer. So if by recovery you mean not
just a return to growth, but one that brings the region's performance back to something
like what people used to regard as the Asian norm, they have a long way to go.
12. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT the writer's opinion?
A. Countries paid a heavy price for whichever measure taken.
B. Countries all found themselves in an economic dilemma.
C. Withdrawal of foreign capital resulted in the crisis.
D. Most governments chose one of the two options.
13. The writer thinks that those Asian countries ______.
A. well deserved the punishment
B. invested in a senseless way at the time
C. were unduly punished in the crisis
D. had bad relationships between government and business
14. It can be inferred from the passage that IMF policy recommendations ______.
A. were far from a panacea in all cases
B. were feasible in their recipient countries
C. failed to work in their recipient countries
D. were rejected unanimously by Asian countries
15. At the end of the passage, the writer seems to think that a full recovery of the Asian
economy is ______.
A. due B. remote C. imaginative D. unpredictable
Passage 4 (5 points)
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In the eighteenth century, Japan's feudal overlords, from the shogun (幕府时代的将军)
to the humblest samurai (武士), found themselves under financial stress. In part, this
stress can be attributed to the overlords' failure to adjust to a rapidly expanding
economy, but the stress was also due to factors beyond the overlords' control.
Concentration of the samurai in castle-towns had acted as a stimulus to trade.
Commercial efficiency, in turn, had put temptations in the way of buyer. Since most
samurai had been reduced to idleness by years of peace, encouraged to engage in
scholarship and martial exercises or to perform administrative tasks that took little time,
it is not surprising that their tastes and habits grew expensive. Overlords' income,
despite the increase in rice production among their tenant farmers, failed to keep pace
with their expenses. Although shortfalls in overlords' income resulted almost as much
from laxity among their tax collectors (the nearly inevitable outcome of hereditary
office-holding) as from their higher standards of living, a misfortune like a fire or
flood, bringing an increase in expenses or a drop in revenue, could put a domain in debt
to the city rice-brokers who handled its finances. Once in debt, neither the individual
samurai nor the shogun himself found it easy to recover.
It was difficult for individual samurai overlords to increase their income because
the amount of rice that farmers could be made to pay in taxes was not unlimited, and
since the income of Japan's central government consisted in part of taxes collected by
the shogun from his huge domain, the government too was constrained. Therefore, the
Tokugawa shoguns began to look to other sources for revenue. Cash profits from
government-owned mines were already on the decline because the most easily worked
deposits of silver and gold had been exhausted, although debasement of the coinage had
compensated for the loss. Opening up new farmland was a possibility, but most of what
was suitable had already been exploited and further reclamation was technically
unfeasible. Direct taxation of the samurai themselves would be politically dangerous.
This left the shoguns only commerce as a potential source of government income.
Most of the country's wealth, or so it seemed, was finding its way into the hands
of city merchants. It appeared reasonable that they should contribute part of that
revenue to ease the shogun's burden of financing the state. A means of obtaining such
revenue was soon found by levying forced loans, known as goyo-kin; although these were
not taxes in the strict sense, since they were irregular in timing and arbitrary in
amount, they were high in yield. Unfortunately, they pushed up prices. Thus,
regrettably, the Tokugawa shoguns' search for solvency for the government made it
increasingly difficult for individual Japanese who lived on fixed stipends to make ends
meet.
16. The passage is most probably taken from ______.
A. an introduction to a collection of Japanese folktales
B. the memoirs of a samurai warrior
C. an economic history of Japan
D. a modern novel about eighteenth-century Japan
17. Overlords experienced financial problems in eighteenth-century Japan mainly because
______.
A. trade had fallen off
B. the coinage had been sharply debased
C. spending had outdistanced income
D. profits from mining had declined
18. For which of the following reasons did individual samurai find it difficult to
recover from debt?
A. Agricultural production had increased.
B. Taxes were irregular in timing and arbitrary in amount.
C. Japanese government had failed to adjust to the needs of a changing economy.
D. There was a limit to the amount in taxes that farmers could be made to pay.
19. The word "this" in the last sentence of paragraph 2 refers to ______.
A. the difficulty of increasing government income by other means
B. the importance of commerce in feudal Japan
C. the search of Japan's Tokugawa shoguns for solvency
D. the unfairness of the tax structure in eighteenth-century Japan
20. The Tokugawa shoguns' actions in the search for solvency were regrettable because
______.
A. they did not succeed in reducing government expenses
B. they were far lower in yield than had been anticipated
C. they raised the cost of living by pushing up prices
D. they acted as a deterrent to trade
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Part Three: Translating the underlined sentences into Chinese
and write your answer on the Answering Sheet (20 points)
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In politics, in the courts, even on the ubiquitous TV talk shows, it is good form to
pick an intellectual fight. People attack each other—hurl insults, even—and it counts as
logical argument. I cannot understand it.
(1) It seems that our society favors a kind of ritualized aggression. Everywhere you
look in newspapers and on television, issues are presented using the terminology of war
and conflict. We hear of battles, duels (决斗) and disputes. We see things in terms of
winners and losers, victors and victims.
(2) The problem is society's unquestioning belief in the advantages of the debate as
a way of solving disagreements, even proving right from wrong. Our brainwashing begins
early at school, when the brightest pupils are co-opted onto the debating system. They
get there because they can think up a good argument to support their case. Once on the
debate team, they learn that they earn bonus points for the skill with which they
verbally attack, or insult, the opposing team. (3) They win if they can successfully
convince the audience that they are right—even if the case they are arguing is clearly
non-sensual. They do this by proving themselves to be stronger, brighter, more
outrageous, even.
The training in this adversarial approach continues at our tertiary institutions. The
standard way to present an academic paper, for instance, is to take up an opposing
argument to something expressed by another academic. The paper must set out to prove
the other person wrong. This is not at all the same thing as reading the original paper
with an open mind and discovering that you disagree with it.
(4) The reverence for the adversarial approach spills over into all areas of life.
Instead of answering their critics, politicians learn to sidestep negative comments and
turn the point around to an attack on accusers. Defense lawyers argue the case for their
clients even when they suspect they may be guilty. And ordinary people use the same
tactics—just listen to your teenager next time you pull him up for coming home late. You
can be sure a stream of abuse will flow about your own time—keeping, your irritating
habits, your history of bad parenting.
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Part Four: Translating the following sentences into English on the
Answering Sheet (20 points)
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(1) 通过过去三十年的经济改革，中国进入了一个社会和经济发展的新阶段。随着中国
更加蓬勃地发展，许多问题和挑战也出现了。
(2) 公共产品和服务需求的快速增长与提供这些产品和服务的缓慢发展是其中一个需要
引起严重关注的问题。
(3) 现在，我们的公共服务并不覆盖所有居民，而且多样化不够，不同地区也不平衡。
最根本原因之一是没有良好的实施公共服务的系统。
(4) 一个成熟的公共服务系统一旦建立起来，它将成为社会可持续发展的重要推动力量。
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Part Five: Writing (25 points)
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Directions: To what extent do you agree or disagree the statement below? Write an essay
with no less than 150 words on the Answering Sheet.
Environmental problems are too big for individual countries and individual people to
address. We have reached the stage where the only way to protect the environment is at
an international level. To what extent do you agree or disagree this statement?
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