东北师范大学考博英语真题,考博英语试题

东北师范大学2006年博士研究生入学考试英语试题
说明：所有试题均须答在答题纸上，答在本试题上一律无效。

Part I Grammar and Vocabulary (20%)
Directions: In this part you must choose the word or phrase which best completes each sentence.
1. Recent polls seem to suggest that the government's popularity ______ at an all time low.    A. be    B. should be    C. can be    D. is
2. She weights ______ between 55 and 60 kilograms.    A. somehow    B. sometimes    C. somewhere    D. somewhat
3. Before you even get the project, you have to do a lot ______ about it.    A. of plan    B. of plans    C. of planning    D. more plans
4. I have escaped to the first-class waiting room of sleeper not ______ for privacy and comfort as for protection.    A. just    B. only    C. all    D. so much
5. Thomas turned his head, ______ the smoke.    A. tried to avoid breathing    B. tried to avoid to breathe in    C. trying not to breathe in    D. trying not breathing
6. To catch a cheater, it helps to think like ______.    A. them    B. it    C. any    D. one
7. I would read all day long and well ______ the night if there were no other claims on my time.    A. at    B. in    C. on    D. into
8. ______ is simply a means of urging people to do more of a good thing and less of a bad thing.    A. An incentive    B. A desire    C. A demand    D. Encouragement
9. If her students do well enough, she might find herself praised, promoted and even richer, the state of California at one point ______ bonuses of $ 25000 for teachers who produced big test-score gains.    A. introduced    B. Utilized    C. imposed    D. practiced
10. Out of the corner of my eye I see my 90th birthday ______. It is one year and six months away.    A. approaching    B. celebrated    C. congratulated    D. observed
11. For them the second-rate foreign product, either people or manufactures, is ______ to the Chinese.    A. preferring    B. Preferable    C. preferred    D. favorite
12. No one –man, woman, or especially child---will be allowed to cross the line and reenter the car until his ice-cream cone has been entirely ______ and he has cleaned himself up.    A. edible    B. consumed    C. taken    D. exterminated
13. They also had less ______ to birth control. What they did have, accordingly, was a lot more babies.    A. chance    B. Opportunity    C. access    D. right
14. The tablets will start to ______ a few minutes after they have been swallowed.    A. work    B. affect    C. perform    D. effect
15. But overall, the teenage ______ of the population wasn't getting much bigger.    A. percent    B. share    C. account    D. problem
16. You've been promoted? This calls ______ a celebration.    A. up    B. forth    C. on    D. for
17. It didn't take her long to ______ a very convincing example.    A. turn up    B. come up with    C. pick up    D. look up
18. Jackson tried to ______ him ______ to our way of thinking.    A. bring…about    B. stick…abound    C. bring…round    D. get…round
19. There are rumors that British Leyland are going to ______ another 1000 workers.    A. wear off    B. work off    C. lay off    D. set off
20. It took some experts many years to even recognize that crime was falling so ______ had they been of its continuing rise.    A. quickly    B. Steadily    C. fascinated    D. confident

Part II Reading Comprehension (45%)
Directions: In this part you will find after each of the passages a number of questions or unfinished statements about the passage, each with four suggested answers or ways of finishing. You must choose the one which you think fits best.
Passage One (5%)
Conflict had existed between Spain and England since the 1570s. England wanted a share of the wealth that Spain had been taking from the lands it had claimed in the Americas.
Elizabeth I, Queen of England, encouraged her staunch admiral of the navy, Sir Francis Drake, to raid Spanish ships and towns. Though these raids were on a small scale, Drake achieved dramatic success, adding gold and silver to England's treasury and diminishing Spain's omnipotence.
Religious differences also caused conflict between the two countries. Whereas Spain was Roman Catholic, most of England had become Protestant. King Philip II of Spain wanted to claim the throne and make England a Catholic country again. To satisfy his ambition and also to retaliate against England's theft of his gold and silver, King Philip began to build his fleet of warships, the Armada, in January 1586.
Philip intended his fleet to be indestructible. In addition to building new warships, he marshaled one hundred and thirty sailing vessels of all types and recruited more than nineteen thousand robust soldiers and eight thousand sailors. Although some of his ships lacked guns and others lacked ammunition, Philip was convinced that his Armada could withstand any battle with England.
The martial Armada set sail from Lisbon, Portugal, on May 9, 1588, but bad weather forced it back to port. The voyage resumed on July 22 after the weather became more stable.
The Spanish fleet met the smaller, faster, and more maneuverable English ships in battle off the coast of Plymouth, England, first on July 31 and again on August 2. The two battles left Spain vulnerable, having lost several ships and with its ammunition depleted. On August 7, while the Armada lay at anchor on the French side of the Strait of Dover, England sent eight burning ships into the midst of the Spanish fleet to set it on fire. Blocked on one side, the Spanish ships could only drift away, their crews in panic and disorder. Before the Armada could regroup, the English attacked again on August 8.
Although the Spaniards made a valiant effort to fight back, the fleet suffered extensive damage. During the eight hours of battle, the Armada drifted perilously close to the rocky coastline. At the moment when it seemed that the Spanish ships would be driven onto the English shore, the wind shifted, and the Armada drifted out into the North Sea. The Spaniards recognized the superiority of the English fleet and returned home, defeated.
21. Sir Francis Drake added wealth to the treasury and diminished Spain's ______.    A. unlimited power    B. unrestricted growth    C. territory    D. treaties
22. Philip recruited many ______ soldiers and sailors.    A. warlike    B. strong    C. accomplish    D. timid
23. The ______ Armada set sail on May 9, 1588.    A. complete    B. warlike    C. independent    D. isolated
24. The two battles left the Spanish fleet ______.    A. open to change    B. triumphant    C. open to attack    D. defeated
25. The Armada was ______ on one side.    A. closed off    B. damaged    C. alone    D. circled
Passage Two (5%)
Many great inventions are greeted with ridicule and disbelief. The invention of the airplane was no exception. Although many people who heard about the first powered flight on December 17,1903, were excited and impressed, others reacted with peals of laughter. The idea of flying an aircraft was repulsive to some people. Such people called Wilbur and Orville Wright, the inventors of the first flying machine, impulsive fools. Negative reactions, however, did not stop the Wrights. Impelled by their desire to succeed, they continued their experiments in aviation.
Orville and Wilbur Wright had always had a compelling interest in aeronautics and mechanics. As young boys they earned money by making and selling kites and mechanical toys. Later, they designed a newspaper-folding machine, built a printing press, and operated a bicycle-repair shop. In 1896, when they read about the death of Otto Lilienthal, the brother's interest in flight grew into a compulsion.
Lilienthal, a pioneer in hang-gliding, had controlled his gliders by shifting his body in the desired direction. This idea was repellent to the Wright brothers, however, and they searched for more efficient methods to control the balance of airborne vehicles. In 1900 and 1901, the Wrights tested numerous gliders and developed control techniques. The brothers' inability to obtain enough lift power for the gliders almost led them to abandon their efforts.
After further study, the Wright brothers concluded that the published tables of air pressure on curved surfaces must be wrong. They set up a wind tunnel and began a series of experiments with model wings. Because of their efforts, the old tables were repealed in time and replaced by the first reliable figures for air pressure on curved surfaces. This work, in turn, made it possible for them to design a machine that would fly. In 1903 the Wrights built their first airplane, which cost less than one thousand dollars. They even designed and built their own source of propulsion- a lightweight gasoline engine. When they started the engine on December 17, the airplane pulsated wildly before taking off. The plane managed to stay aloft for twelve seconds, however, and it flew one hundred twenty feet.
By 1905 the Wrights had perfected the first airplane that could turn, circle, and remain airborne for half an hour at a time. Others had flown in balloons or in hang gliders, but the Wright brothers were the first to build a full-size machine that could fly under its own power. As the contributors of one of the most outstanding engineering achievements in history, the Wright brothers are accurately called the fathers of aviation.
26. The idea of flying an aircraft was ______ to some people.    A. boring    B. distasteful    C. exciting    D. needless
27. People thought that the Wright brothers had ______.    A. acted without thinking    B. been negatively influenced    C. been too cautions    D. acted in a negative way
28. The Wrights' interest in flight grew into a ______.    A. financial empire    B. plan    C. need to act    D. foolish thought
29. Lilienthal's idea about controlling airborne vehicles was ______ the Wrights.    A. proven wrong by    B. opposite to the idea of    C. disliked by    D. accepted by
30. The old tables were ______ and replaced by the first reliable figures for air pressure on curved surfaces.    A. destroyed    B. canceled    C. multiplied    D. discarded
Passage Three (5%)
The fridge is considered a necessity. It has been so since the 1960s when packaged food first appeared with the label: "store in the refrigerator."
In my fridgeless fifties childhood, I was fed well and healthily. The milkman came daily, the grocer, the butcher, the baker, and the ice-cream man delivered two or three times a week. The Sunday meat would last until Wednesday and surplus bread and milk became all kinds of cakes. Nothing was wasted, and we were never troubled by rotten food. Thirty years on food deliveries have ceased, fresh vegetables are almost unobtainable in the country.
The invention of the fridge contributed comparatively little to the art of food preservation. A vast way of well-tried techniques already existed--natural cooling, drying, smoking salting, sugaring, bottling...
What refrigeration did promote was marketing--marketing hardware and electricity, marketing soft drinks, marketing dead bodies of animals around the globe in search of a good price.
Consequently, most of the world's fridges are to be found, not in the tropics where they might prove useful, but in the wealthy countries with mild temperatures where they are climatically almost unnecessary. Every winter, millions of fridges hum away continuously, and at vast expense, busily maintaining an artificially-cooled space inside an artificially-heated house--while outside, nature provides the desired temperature free of charge.
The fridge's effect upon the environment has been evident, while its contribution to human happiness has been insignificant, If you don't believe me, try it yourself, invest in a food cabinet and turn off your fridge next winter. You may miss the hamburgers, but at least you'll get rid of that terrible hum.
31. The statement "in my fridgeless fifties childhood, I was fed well and healthily." Suggests that    A. the author was well-fed and healthy even without a fridge in his fifties    B. the author was not accustomed to using fridges even in his fifties    C. there was no refrigerator in the author's home in the 1950s.    D. the fridge was in its early stage of development in the 1950s.
32. Why does the author say that nothing was wasted before the invention of fridge?    A. people would not buy more food than was necessary.    B. food was delivered two or three times a week.    C. food was sold fresh and did not get rotten easily    D. people had effective ways to preserve their food.
33. Who benefited the least from fridges according to the author?    A. inventors    B. consumers    C. manufactures    D. traveling salesman
34. Which of the following phrases in the fifth paragraph indicates the fridge's negative effect on the environment?    A. "hum away continuously"    B. "climatically almost unnecessary"    C. "artificially-cooled space"    D. "with mild temperatures"
35. What is the author's overall attitude toward fridges?    A. neutral    B. critical    C. objective    D. compromising
Passage Four (5%)
After the violent earthquake that shook Los Angeles in 1994, earthquake scientists had good news to report; The damage and death toll could have been much worse.
More than 60 people died in this earthquake. By comparison, an earthquake of similar intensity that shook America in 1988 claimed 25, 000 victims.
Injuries and deaths were relatively less in Los Angeles because the quake occurred at 4:31 a.m. on a holiday, when traffic was light on the city's highways. In addition, changes made to the construction codes in Los Angeles during the last 20 years have strengthened the city's buildings and highways, making them more resistant to quakes.
Despite the good news, civil engineers aren't resting on their successes. Pinned to their drawing boards are blueprints for improved quake-resistant buildings. The new designs should offer even greater security to cities where earthquakes often take place.
In the past, making structures quake-resistant meant firm yet flexible materials, such as steel and wood, that bend without breaking. Later, people tried to lift a building off its foundation, and insert rubber and steel between the building and its foundation to reduce the impact of ground vibrations. The most recent designs give buildings brains as well as concrete and steel supports, called smart buildings, the structures respond like living organisms to an earthquake's vibrations. When the ground shakes and the building tips forward, the computer would force the building to shift in the opposite direction.
The new smart structures could be very expensive to build. However, they would save many lives and would be less likely to be damaged during earthquakes.
36. One reason why the loss of lives in the Los Angeles earthquake was comparatively low is that ______.    A. new computers had been installed in the buildings    B. it occurred in the residential areas rather than on the highways    C. large number of Los Angeles residents had gone for a holiday.    D. improvements had been made in the construction of buildings and highways
37. The function of the computer mentioned in the passage is to ______.    A. counterbalance an earthquake's action on the building    B. predict the coming of an earthquake with accuracy    C. help strengthen the foundation of the building    D. measure the impact of an earthquake's vibrations
38. The smart building discussed in the passage ______.    A. would cause serious financial problems    B. would be worthwhile though costly    C. would reduce the complexity of architectural design    D. can reduce the ground vibrations caused by earthquakes
39. It can be inferred from the passage that in minimizing the damage caused by earthquakes, attention should be focused on ______.    A. the increasing use of rubber and steel in capital construction.    B. the development of flexible building materials    C. the reduction of the impact of ground vibrations    D. early forecasts of earthquakes
40. The author's main purpose in writing the passage is to ______.    A. compare the consequences of the earthquakes that occurred in the U.S.    B. encourage civil engineers to make more extensive use of computers    C. outline the history of the development of quake-resistant building materials    D. report new developments in constructing quake-resistant building.
Passage Five (5%)
I think it was De Mandeville who suggested a river party for the staffs of the various embassies. Nor, on the face of it, was the idea a bad one. All winter long the logs come down the River Sava until the frost locks them in: now with the spring thaw the river has a pontoon of treetrunks some forty feet wide lining the bank under the willows so that you can walk out over the river, avoiding the margins, and swim in the deep water.
These logs had been made into a hundred feet by sixty—big enough even to dance on. While everyone was dancing the rumba and while the buffet was plying a heavy trade, it was noticed that the distance between the raft and the shore had noticeably increased. The gang-plank subsided in the ooze. It was not a great distance—perhaps ten feet. But owing to the solid resistance such a large raft set up in the main current the pull was definitely outward. But as yet nobody was alarmed; indeed most of the party thought it was part of a planned entertainment.
As we approached the next bend of the river it looked as if the whole thing would run aground on the bank, and a few of us made preparations to grab hold of the overhanging willows and halt our progress. But by ill luck a change in the current carried us just too far into the centre of the river and we were carried past the spit of land, vainly groping at the tips of bushes.
It was about another five minutes before the full significance of our position began to dawn upon us. By this time we were moving in stately fashion down the centre of the river, all lit up like a Christmas tree. Exclamations, suggestions, counter suggestions poured from the lips of the diplomats and their spouses in a dozen tongues.
Unknown to us, too, other factors were being introduced which were to make this a memorable night for us all. Spy-mania was at its height and the Yugoslav forces lived in a permanent state of alertness. There were frequent rumors of armed raids from Czechoslovakia.
It was in this context that some Yugoslav infantryman at an observation post along the river saw what he took to be a large armed man on war full of Czech paratroops in dinner jackets and ball dresses sailing upon Belgrade. He did not wait to verify this first impression. He galloped into Belgrade Castle a quarter of an hour later on a foam-flecked mule with the news that the city was about to be invaded.
41. A river party was practicable because ______.    A. the river was lined with willow trees    B. the banks were not muddy at this time    C. there was a suitable surface for walking on    D. there was not too much frost at this season
42. The raft did not stop at the next bend because ______.    A. there was too much mud on the river bank    B. there were only bushes to catch hold of    C. the current made it swirl outwards    D. the water was not shallow enough
43. The occupants of the raft were ______.    A. completely unaware of their situation    B. quarrelling in various languages    C. indignant with the organizers of the party    D. anxious to help solve the problem
44. They came under suspicion because ______.    A. the Yugoslavs feared an invasion    B. Czechoslovakia was at war    C. the country was full of spies    D. of the way they were dressed
45. The Yugoslav look-out made a mistake because ______.    A. the party were dressed in soldiers' uniforms    B. the raft was sailing towards Belgrade    C. many of the party were armed    D. he was affected by the general tension
Passage Six (10%)
April the 3rd was the day we attempted to reach Mount Everest. The morning saw us all up and rushing about the camp at daybreak. We bumped down the nine miles of dusty track, each clutching a camera or one of the more delicate instruments to our chests in an endeavor to make our bodies absorb as many of the shocks from the bumpy track as possible. The ground staff were already busy on our arrival. The sheds where the aircraft were kept had been opened and the great machines were being manhandled out onto the runway. The bottles of oxygen were carefully placed in their clips and connected to the system. The vertical cameras were fitted and tested, air frames and engines were inspected and tested in every detail.
Pilots and observers cared greatly about their equipment, trying on oxygen masks which they had tried on many times before, readjusted to a nicety. They then rechecked the charts which had been carefully prepared to allow accurately for the increasing wind speeds during the climb—all trying to keep themselves occupied during that tense half hour wait for the return of the reconnaissance machine.
There had been so much preparation for this flight, and there was still so much of the unknown about it, that the crews could not help being slightly affected by the general excitement. Waiting is always unpleasant, and we were all relieved to see the reconnaissance machine diving down through the dust haze. The Air Commodore who commanded it brought welcome news. Though he had been unable to climb above the dust, he had been able to see towards the mountains through the top of the haze and there was a cloudless sky. This was splendid: no cloud to spoil the photography.
We had promised not to attempt the flight if the wind exceeded 40 miles an hour, but this was the first time we had found the wind under 100 miles an hour. We worked out the implications and reckoned that, provided we did not spend more than fifteen minutes at the summit, we could get back inside our petrol endurance. We might wait for days and weeks and not get another opportunity. The Air Commodore weighed the position carefully and gave the word "Go".
46. The author and his colleagues held their instruments close to their bodies because ______.    A. there were so many people in the car    B. the dust might have obscured their cameras    C. the surface of the track was very uneven    D. they wanted to protect themselves from bumps
47. When the members of the expedition arrived at the aerodrome, the ground staff were ______.    A. maneuvering the aircraft into position on the runway    B. attaching the clips to the bottles of oxygen    C. waiting to remove the machines from the sheds    D. making final adjustments to the vertical cameras
48. The crews of the aircraft kept checking their equipment ______.    A. to ensure that the straps on their oxygen masks were adjustable    B. to pinpoint the position of the reconnaissance plane    C. to verify the accuracy of the wind speeds shown in their charts    D. to keep themselves busy until it was time to take off
49. For this expedition the pilots were equipped with ______.    A. a television system    B. a new type of aircraft    C. breathing apparatus    D. parachute equipment
50. During the reconnaissance flight the Air Commodore was able to ______.    A. get close to the Summit of Mount Everest    B. observe the weather conditions above the dust.    C. take long-range photographs of the mountain    D. send information back to the aerodrome
Passage Seven (10%)
Whatever may be said against mass circulation magazines and newspapers, it can hardly be argued that they are out of touch with their readers' daydreams, and therefore the persuasions they hold out to them must be a near accurate reflection of their unfulfilled wants and aspirations. Study these and you will assuredly understand a good deal of what it is that makes society go forward.
Looking back, for example, to the twenties and thirties, we can see that circulation managers unerringly diagnosed the twin obsessions which dominated that era of mass unemployment--economic insecurity and a passionate concern for the next generation. Thus it was that readers were recruited with offers of free insurance policies for the one, and free instant education for the other. The family whose breadwinner lost an eye in a double railway derailment, or an arm in a flood, could confidently expect to collect several hundred pounds from the Daily This or the Evening That. The family who could not afford to send their son to grammar school could find comfort in equipping him with the complete works of Shakespeare in one magnificent, easy-to-read volume.
After the war the need to fall into step with the new consumer society was soon realized. If you were challenged by neighbors who, unlike you, could afford a holiday abroad, then winning an easy competition could set you up with a fortnight in an exotic sunspot. Dishwashers, washing machines, slow-cookers and deep-fat fryers were--and still are--available by the same means.
51. The writer finds the study of gifts and prizes interesting because it ______.    A. shows the power of the popular press    B. reveals social trends    C. confirms his view of human nature    D. exposes journalist dishonesty
52. Why did newspapers in the 1920s and 1930s offer their readers gifts?    A. to spread popular education    B. to increase their circulation    C. to improve social conditions    D. to increase their readers' ambitions
53. What does the choice of gifts tell us about the circulation manages?    A. they despaired their reader    B. their interests were rather serious    C. they understood their readers    D. they enjoyed being powerful
54. Why were readers in the 1920s and 1930s attracted by free insurance policies?    A. they were afraid of being unable to work    B. Jobs were more dangerous then    C. they had bigger families to look after    D. money was given away with the policies
55. Why did holidays abroad become a common prize after the war?    A. people became more interested in material possessions    B. everyone wanted the opportunity to travel    C. group travel became easier    D. people want to get away from familiar surrounding

Part III Translation (20%)
Directions: Translate the following sentences from English into Chinese.
1. Let American confront a novel problem alongside English, and immediately its superior imaginativeness and resourcefulness become obvious.
2. If you stock your refrigerator with fruit juices, you may be setting your kids up for a battle with obesity.
3. Stereotypes of the nagging, critical mother-in-law may need some revising, a new study suggests that good husbands or boyfriends are often the product of great moms.
4. Cash-strapped couples are buying fewer engagement rings and instead wearing their affections on their sleeves in the form of brand-name watches and other love tokens, industry researches said on Tuesday.
5. McDonald's Corp...battered by criticism of its fatty foods, said it would eliminate French fries and soft drinks by the end of the year, part of a swing toward pleasing health-minded customers and simplifying it menu.
6. I believe that though my life was short in years, it was full in experience, joy, love and accomplishment, that my own immortality will reside in the memories of my loved ones left behind, mother, brother, wife, children, dear friends.
7. A reader in Florida, apparently bruised by some personal experience, writes in to complain. "If I steal a nickel's worth of merchandise, I am a thief and punished, but if I steal the love of another's wife, I am free."
8. The waitress recommends real home-made beef and mashed potatoes and he will have the beef, but could he substitute fries with that, please?
9. Leadership is all about getting people consistently to give their best, helping them to grow to their fullest potential, and motivating them to work toward a common good.
10. Almost any kind of information can be found though the internet from electronic magazines that deal with ghost stories, poetry, or children's stories to areas where you can play games, listen to music, or discuss about any thing that interests you.

Part IV Writing (15%)
Directions: Write a composition of about 200 words. Your answer must follow exactly the instructions given.
Topic: Is it possible for humans to be equal?
You are to give your composition a proper title and then write three paragraphs:
In the first paragraph, state clearly your viewpoint.
In the second paragraph, support your viewpoint with details or examples.
In the last paragraph, bring what you have written to a natural conclusion with a summary or a suggestion.
Marks will be awarded for content, organization and appropriate use of language.