桂林理工大学考博英语真题,考博英语试题

桂林理工大学2015年博士研究生入学考试英语试题

（考试科目代码：1001 满分100分，时间3小时）
Part I Reading Comprehension (45%)
Directions: There are 3 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter.
Passage 1
Cancer is feared by everyone. And this fear is reaching epidemic level. Not the disease itself --- there is no such thing as a cancer epidemic. Except for lung cancer, mostly caused by cigarette smoking, the incidence rates are leveling off, and in the case of some kinds of cancer are decreasing. But the fear of cancer is catching, and the country stands at risk of an anxiety. The earth itself is coming to seem like a huge carcinogen (致癌物). The ordinary, more or less scientific statement that something between 80 and 90 percent of all cancers are due to things in the environment is taken to mean that none of us will be safe until the whole environment is "cleaned up." This is not at all the meaning. The 80-percent calculation is based on the unthinkable differences in the incidence of cancer in various societies around the world --- for example, the high proportion of liver cancer in Africa and the Far East, stomach cancer in Japan, breast cancer in Western Europe and North America, and the relatively low figures for breast cancer in Japan and parts of Africa and for liver cancer in America. These data indicate there may be special and specific environmental influences, largely based on personal life-style, that determine the incidence of various forms of cancer in different communities --- but that is all the data suggest. The overall incidence of cancer, counting up all the cases, is probable roughly the same everywhere.
1. Which of the following is closest to meaning to the phrase "leveling off"?
A) Became very popular
B) Reached its lowest level in popularity
C) Stopped being popular
D) Stopped increasing its popularity
2. According to the passage, the incidence of cancer is generally believed ______.
A) to be based on inactive life style
B) to be due to anxiety
C) to result from environmental influences
D) to be caused by heavy smoking
3. It can be inferred from the passage that the writer's opinion about the relationship between cancer and environment is ______.
A) positive
B) negative
C) neutral
D) approving
4. According to the passage, the writer seems to feel that ______.
A) cancer risk is on the rise
B) the whole earth resembles a huge carcinogen
C) the risk of catching cancer is not so great as most people conceive
D) cancer can be cured sooner or later
5. Which of the following would be the best TITLE for the passage?
A) Cancer and Environment
B) The Fear Caused by Cancers
C) Data on Cancer Incidence
D) Cancer and its Investigation
Passage 2
Sixteen years ago, Eileen Doyle's husband, an engineer, took his four children up for an early morning cup of tea, packed a small case and was never seen or heard of again. Eileen was astonished and in a state of despair. They had been a happy family and, as far as she knew, there had been nothing wrong with their marriage.
Every day of the year, a small group of men and women quietly pack a few belongings and without so much as a note or a good-bye close the front door for the last time, leaving their debts, their worries and their confused families behind them.
Last year, more than 1,200 men and nearly as many women were reported missing from home --- the highest in 15 years. Many did return home within a year, but others rejected the past completely and are now living a new life somewhere under a different identity.
To those left behind this form of desertion is a terrible blow to their pride and self-confidence. Even the finality of death might be preferable. At least it does not imply rejection or failure. Worse than that, people can be left with an unfinished marriage, not knowing whether they will have to wait seven years before they are free to start a fresh life.
Clinical psychologist Paul Brown believes most departures of this kind to be well planned rather than impulsive. "It's typical of the kind of personality which seems able to ignore other people's pain and difficulties. Running away, like killing yourself, is a highly aggressive act. By creating an absence the people left behind feel guilty, upset and empty."
The Salvation Army's Investigation Department has a 70 percent success rate in tracking missing people down. According to Lt. Co. Bramwell Pratt, head of the department, men and women run away for very different reasons though lack of communication is often the biggest motive. "The things that disturb a man's personality are problems like being tied up in debt or serious worries about work. And some women make impossible demands on their husbands. Women usually leave for more obvious reasons but fear is at the root of it. Men are more often prepared to give their marriage another try than women, but we are aware that, for some wives, it would be a total impossibility to return after the way they've been treated."
6. When her husband left home, Eileen Doyle ______.
A) could not forgive him for taking the children
B) had been expecting it to happen for some time
C) could not understand why
D) blamed herself for what had happened
7. Most people who leave their families behind them ______.
A) do so without warning
B) do so because of their debts
C) come back immediately
D) change their names
8. The man or woman left behind usually ______.
A) admits responsibility for the situation
B) wishes the person who has left were dead
C) feels embarrassed and useless
D) will have no legal marriage life for seven years
9. Paul Brown regards leaving home in such circumstances as ______.
A) an act of despair
B) an act of selfishness
C) the result of a sudden decision
D) the result of the enormous sense of guilt
10. The Salvation Army believes that ______.
A) most men run away because of the impossible demands of their wives
B) men's reasons are more understandable than women's
C) some women never give their men another chance
D) women are often afraid to start marriage again
Passage 3
We can begin our discussion of "population as global issue" with what most persons mean when they discuss "the population problem": too many people on earth and a too rapid increase in the number added each year. The facts are not in dispute, It was quite right to employ the analogy that likened demographic growth to "a long, thin powder fuse that burns steadily and haltingly until it finally reaches the charge and explodes."
To understand the current situation, which is characterized by rapid increases in population, it is necessary to understand the history of population trends. Rapid growth is a comparatively recent phenomenon. Looking back at the 8,000 years of demographic history, we find that populations have been virtually stable or growing very slightly for most of human history. For most of our ancestors, life was hard, often nasty, and very short. There was high fertility in most places, but this was usually balanced by high mortality. For most of human history, it was seldom the case that one in ten persons would live past forty, while infancy and childhood were especially risky periods. Often, societies were in clear danger of extinction because death rates could exceed their birthrates. Thus, the population problem throughout most of history was how to prevent extinction of the human race.
This pattern is important to notice. Not only does it put the current problems of demographic growth into a historical perspective, but it suggests that the cause of rapid increase in population in recent years is not a sudden enthusiasm for more children, but an improvement in the conditions that traditionally have caused high mortality.
Demographic history can be divided into two major periods: a time of long slow growth which extended from about 8,000 BC. till approximately AD. 1650. In the first period of some 9600 years, the population increased from some 8 million to 500 million in 1650. Between 1650 and the present, the population has increased from 500 million to more than 4 billion. And it is estimated that by the year 2000 there will be 6.2 billion people throughout the world. One way to appreciate this dramatic difference in such abstract numbers is to reduce the time frame to something that is more manageable. Between 8000BC and 1650, an average of only 50,000 persons was being added annually to the world's population each year. At present, this number is added every six hours. The increase is about 80,000,000 persons annually.
11. Which of the following demographic growth pattern is most suitable for the long thin powder fuse analogy?
A) A virtually stable or slightly decreasing period and then a sudden explosion of population.
B) A slow growth for a long time and then a period of rapid, dramatic increase.
C) Too many people on earth and a few rapid increase in the number added each year.
D) A long period when death rates exceeds birthrates and then a short period with higher fertility and lower mortality.
12. During the first period of demographic history, societies were often in danger of extinction because ______.
A) only one in ten persons could live past 40.
B) there was higher mortality than fertility in most places.
C) it was too dangerous to have babies due to the poor conditions.
D) our ancestors had little enthusiasm for more children.
13. Which statement is true about population increase?
A) There might be an increase of 2.2 billion persons from now to the year 2000.
B) About 50,000 babies are born every six hours at present.
C) Between 8000 BC and the present, the population increase is about 80,000,000 persons each year.
D) The population increased faster between 8000BC and 1650 than between 1650 and the present.
14. The author of the passage intends to ______.
A) warn people against the population explosion in the near future.
B) compare the demographic growth pattern in the past with that after 1650.
C) find out the cause for rapid increase in population in recent years.
D) present us a clear and complete picture of the demographic growth.
15. The word "demographic" in the first paragraph means ______.
A) statistics of human.
B) surroundings study.
C) accumulation of human.
D) development of human.
Part II Translation (25%)
Directions: For this part, you are required to translate a passage from Chinese into English. You should write your answer on the Answer Sheet.
"面子"是中国人际交往和商业往来中的典型现象。"面子"在汉语中没有专门的定义，和"名声"的概念相近。如果你不太熟悉中国文化，你应该了解一下"面子"或"有面子"。如果你不给别人"留面子"，他们会认为你不尊重他们。中国人生活的方方面面都有"面子"的影子。中国人不喜欢说"不"，因为他们想给双方"留面子"，因此他们会说"现在不太方便"、"太难了"或"可能吧"，但是不会对别人只说一个"不"字。
Part III Writing (30%)
Directions: For this part, you are required to write a short essay about "Holiday Economy". You should write at least 150 words. It is suggested that the essay cover three aspects: popularity of the holiday economy, people's divided opinions about it, and your view of it.