哈尔滨工业大学考博英语真题,考博英语试题

2013年哈尔滨工业大学博士研究生入学考试英语试题

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题号 I II III         总分
分数 60 25 15         100分
General English Admission Test for Non-English Major
Ph. D. Program
(Harbin Institute of Technology)
Part I Reading Comprehension (60 points)
Directions: In this section, there are eight passages for you to read and choose the best answers to the corresponding questions. Write your choices on the ANSWER SHEET.
Passage 1
A bus took him to the West End, where, among the crazy colored fountains of illumination, shattering the blue dusk with green and crimson fire, he found the cafe of his choice, a tea-shop that had gone mad and turned Babylonian, a white palace with ten thousand lights. It towered above the other building like a citadel, which indeed it was, the outpost of a new age, perhaps a new civilization, perhaps a new barbarism; and behind the thin marble front were concrete and steel, just as behind the careless profusion of luxury were millions of pence, balanced to the last halfpenny. Somewhere in the background, hidden away, behind the ten thousand lights and acres of white napery and bewildering glittering rows of teapots, behind the thousand waitresses and cash-box girls and black-coated floor managers and temperamental long-haired violinists, behind the mounds of cauldrons of stewed steak, the van-loads of ices, were a few men who went to work juggling with fractions of a farming, who knew how many units of electricity it took to finish a steak-and-kidney Pudding and how many minutes and seconds a waitress (five feet four in height and in average health) would need to carry a tray of given weight from the kitchen life to the table in the far corner. In short, there was a warm, sensuous, vulgar life flowering in the upper storeys, and a cold science working in the basement. Such as the gigantic tea-shop into which Turgis marched, in search not of mere refreshment but of all the enchantment of unfamiliar luxury. Perhaps he knew in his heart the men have conquered half the known world, looted whole kingdoms, and never arrived in such luxury. The place was built for him.
It was built for a great many other people too, and, as usual, they were all there. It seemed with humanity. The marble entrance hall, piled dizzily with bonbons and cakes, was as crowded and bustling as a railway station. The gloom and grime of the streets, the raw air, all November, were at once left behind, forgotten: the atmosphere inside was golden, tropical, belonging to some high mid-summer of confectionery. Disdaining the lifts, Turgis, once more excited by the sight, sound, and smell of it all, climbed the wide staircase until he reached his favorite floor, where an orchestra, led by a young Jewish violinist with wandering lustrous eyes and a passion for tremolo effects, acted as a magnet to a thousand girls, scented air, the sensuous clamor of the strings; and, as he stood hesitating a moment, half dazed, there came, bowing, a sleek grave man, older than he was and far more distinguished than he could ever hope to be, who murmured deferentially: "For one, sir? This way please." Shyly, yet proudly, Turgis followed him.
1. That "behind the thin marble front were concrete and steel" in Para 1 suggests that ______.
A. modern realistic commercialism existed behind the luxurious appearance    B. there was a fundamental falseness in the style and the appeal of the cafe
C. the architect had made a sensible blend of old and new building materials    D. the cafe was based on physical foundations and real economic strength
2. In its context the statement that "the place was built for him" means that the cafe was intended to ______.
A. please simple people in a simple way    B. exploit gullible people like him
C. satisfy a demand that already existed    D. provide relaxation for tired young men
3. Which of the following statements about the second paragraph is NOT true?
A. The cafe appealed to most senses simultaneously.    B. The cafe was both full of people and full of warmth.
C. The inside of the cafe was contrasted with the weather outside.    D. It stressed the commercial determination of the cafe owners.
4. The following are comparisons made by the author in the second paragraph EXCEPT that ______.
A. the entrance hall is compared to a railway station    B. Turgis welcomed the lift like a conquering soldier
C. the orchestra is compared to a magnet    D. the interior of the cafe is compared to warm countries
5. The author's attitude to the cafe is ______.
A. fundamentally critical    B. slightly admiring
C. quite undecided    D. completely neutral
Passage 2
How did a lanky Danish vegetarian who wears T-shirts to important meetings and votes only for left-wing politicians become the great Satan of environmentalism? By telling everyone he is an environmentalist but sounding like the opposite. "We are not running out of energy or natural resources," writes Bjorn Lomborg, 37, an associate professor of statistics at Denmark's University of Aarhus and a former member of Greenpeace, in his 1998 book The Skeptical Environmentalist. "Air and water around us are becoming less and less polluted. Mankind's lot has actually improved in terms of practically every measurable indicator."
The book, which was published in English last year, became a best seller, and conservatives worldwide use its ideas to justify inaction on such issues as deforestation and global warming. "We should do something that actually does good and not sounds good," he says of the expense of complying with the Kyoto Protocol on global warming. "For the cost of Kyoto for one year, we could give clean drinking water and sanitation to every human being on earth."
Some scientists say they initially hoped to ignore Lomborg but in the wake of his book's popularity have reacted with a fury rarely seen in academia. Peter Raven, chairman of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, calls Lomborg "the prime example in our time of someone who distorts statistics and statements to meet his own political end." A dozen esteemed environmental scientists, including Raven and Harvard's Edward O. Wilson, are demanding that Lomborg's publisher cut him loose. "We are deeply disturbed that Cambridge University Press would publish and promote an error-filled, poorly referenced and non-peer-reviewed work," they write in a letter calling on Cambridge to transfer publishing rights to a popular, non-scholarly press.
The problem is, Lomborg gets many of his facts right—and provides 2,930 footnotes to make them easy to check. Some scientists and environmental advocates have made exaggerated claims about environmental doom, and it's not surprising that they have finally been catalogued. Yet Lomborg is as guilty of exaggeration and selective use of data as those he criticizes. He is right that air and water quality and agricultural productivity have improved in much of the world. But to look at the data on global warming, biological diversity, marine depletion and deforestation and still say things are generally getting better takes a willful blindness. That's why it's a shame so many of the attacks on Lomborg rely on name calling. All that does is to avoid what could be a valuable debate on the substance of environmental policy—and, of course, help Lomborg sell books. "I'm making a fair amount of money from the book," says Lomborg. "A lot more than Cambridge thought."
6. Why is Bjorn Lomborg criticized by environmentalists?
A. Because he has always been against protecting the environment.    B. Because he believes that environmental problems are becoming worse.
C. Because he put forward a new hypothesis of protecting the world environment.    D. Because he claims to be an environmentalist but doubts that environmental problems are as serious as they used to be.
7. We can learn from the text that The Skeptical Environmentalist is a book that ______.
A. has attracted attention from both the public and the scholars    B. has been neglected by the readers since its publication
C. has been greatly praised by the readers since its publication    D. has been greatly criticized by the readers since its publication
8. Conservatives worldwide share with Lomborg the same view that deforestation and global warming are ______.
A. getting worse and worse because nothing has been done about them    B. getting better and better because much money has been spent on them
C. not serious problems that should be solved at great cost at present    D. serious problems that should be solved at any cost
9. The scientists, according to the text, demand that Cambridge University Press ______.
A. sell all the books to a popular, non-scholarly press, for the book is full of errors    B. stop publishing the book and sell the publishing rights to a non-scholarly press, for the book is not an academic book
C. stop publishing any books written by Lomborg, for he is not accepted by his peers    D. transfer the publishing rights of the book to another press, for the book is not well referenced
10. What does the author think of the criticism against Lomborg's book?
A. It is not fair, for the book is well-referenced.    B. It is fair and has been conducted in a good way.
C. It prevents Lomborg from getting more money from the book.    D. It should not be name-calling but should be carried out in a way that could start a meaningful discussion on how to solve environmental problems.
Passage 3
The health-care economy is replete with unusual and even unique economic relationships. One of the least understood involves the peculiar roles of producer or "provider" and purchaser or "consumer" in the typical doctor-patient relationship. In most sectors of the economy, it is the seller who attempts to attract a potential buyer with various inducements of price, quality, and utility, and it is the buyer who makes the decision. Where circumstances permit the buyer no choice because there is effectively only one seller and the product is relatively essential, government usually asserts monopoly and places the industry under price and other regulations. Neither of these conditions prevails in most of the health-care industry.
In the health-care industry, the doctor-patient relationship is the mirror image of the ordinary relationship between producer and consumer. Once an individual has chosen to see a physician—and even then there may be no real choice—it is the physician who usually makes all significant purchasing decisions: whether the patient should return "next Wednesday," whether X-rays are needed, whether drugs should be prescribed, etc. It is a rare and sophisticated patient who will challenge such professional decisions or raise in advance questions about price, especially when the ailment is regarded as serious.
This is particularly significant in relation to hospital care. The physician must certify the need for hospitalization, determine what procedures will be performed, and announce when the patient may be discharged. The patient may be consulted about some of these decisions, but in the main it is the doctor's judgments that are final. Little wonder then that in the eyes of the hospital it is the physician who is the real "consumer". As a consequence, the medical staff represents the "power center" in hospital policy and decision-making, not the administration.
Although usually there are in this situation four identifiable participants—the physician, the hospital, the patient, and the payer (generally an insurance carrier or government)—the physician makes the essential decisions for all of them. The hospital becomes an extension of the physician; the payer generally meets most of the bona fide bills generated by the physician/hospital; and for the most part the patient plays a passive role. In routine or minor illnesses, or just plain worries, the patient's options are, of course, much greater with respect to use and price. In illnesses that are of some significance, however, such choices tend to evaporate, and it is for these illnesses that the bulk of the health-care dollar is spent. We estimate that about 75-80 percent of health-care expenditures are determined by physicians, not patients. For this reason, economy measures directed at patients or the general public is relatively ineffective.
11. The author's primary purpose is to ______.
A. urge hospitals to reclaim their decision-making authority    B. criticize doctors for exercising too much control over patients
C. analyze some important economic factors in health care    D. speculate about the relationship between a patient's ability to pay and the treatment received
12. It can be inferred that doctors are able to determine hospital policies because ______.
A. it is doctors who generate income for the hospital    B. most of a patient's bills are paid by his health insurance
C. a doctor is ultimately responsible for a patient's health    D. hospital administrators lack the expertise to question medical decisions
13. According to the author, when a doctor tells a patient to "return next Wednesday", the doctor is in effect ______.
A. advising the patient to seek a second opinion    B. instructing the patient to buy more medical services
C. taking advantage of the patient's concern for his health    D. warning the patient that a hospital stay might be necessary
14. The author is most probably leading up to ______.
A. a proposal to control medical costs    B. a discussion of a new medical treatment
C. an analysis of the causes of inflation in the United States    D. a study of lawsuits against doctors for malpractice
15. The tone of the passage can best be described as ______.
A. cautious    B. defiant
C. inquisitive    D. analytical
Passage 4
We are good at inventing way to enlarge our realm. Repeatedly we find methods of spreading farther. If an element is forbidding, we devise a means to master it. Reaching the continental shores, we developed ship-building and navigational skills in order to cross oceans. Shivering at arctic weather, we designed fur clothing and snug shelters in order to edge northward. And, having first occupied much of the usable space in the world, we are filling its usable time. Although being wakeful at night flouted our natural rhythms, we developed artificial lighting that let us be active after dark.
An era is now under way in which we are replacing our cyclic community with activities that never stop. There is widespread factory shift work. Airports, gasoline stations, hotels, restaurants and broadcasters operate incessantly. Data-processing departments of insurance companies and banks are astir all night. Meanwhile, isolated individuals bend over books and papers on desks in their homes, watch television after midnight, or walk in the streets and listen to the night breathe.
This extension across all hours of the day resembles our spreading across the face of the Earth. Look at both trends from enough perspective in distance and time and they appear alike. Hover far above the planet and watch it as it spins throughout the eras. With the planet's surface in daylight, little human settlements can be seen to grow larger as the years go by and small extensions appear at their outskirts. Watch the surface when it is in night and at first some pinpoints of light flicker for a while and then go out. After ages pass, those lights become stronger; they stay on longer, and other glimmerings appear nearby. Day and night, over thousands of years, reveal to us widening networks of human settlements and illumination being prolonged after dark. The surface is not uniformly occupied. The hours are not uniformly lit. But both are advancing in order.
Both forms of expansion are frontiers. A frontier is a new source of resources that people use for subsistence or for profit. It is also a safety valve for people who feel confined. They disperse in response to pressures at home and to appealing opportunities elsewhere.
Now, venturing into the night, we have the same motives as our predecessors who migrated geographically. The daytime is too crowded. Its carrying capacity is being strained, and still it does not yield all that the community wants. The chance to exploit facilities that are left idle also arouses our initiative to use more of the night. Using the same space more of the time is a way to multiply its capacity. Some people dislike the commotion of the day and crave the serenity of night. Others look to it to better themselves economically. It is no accident that personal motives for relief and opportunity are similar to the causes of expansion for the community as a whole. Those are the age-old forces behind all migrations.
16. The primary purpose of the passage is to ______.
A. persuade readers to increase their use of nighttime hours    B. argue that constant human activity is harmful to individuals and groups
C. explore how the changing use of time is related to the history of human expansion    D. critique the way in which changing labor patterns have come to dominate human life
17. The examples the author cites in Para.2 ("There is ...night") illustrate a blurring of ______.
A. ambition and greed    B. solitude and companionship
C. the uses of nighttime and of daytime    D. the purposes of work and of recreation
18. In context, the use of "Look", "Hover," and "Watch" (in Para.3) is intended to ______.
A. warn readers of the threat of unbounded migration    B. invite readers to imagine human history visually
C. prepare readers to anticipate change and its consequences    D. promote the use of nighttime hours for work or leisure activities
19. In Para. 3, "both" most directly refers to ______.
A. worker productivity and national wealth    B. scientific knowledge and individual well-being
C. competing work demands and available time    D. inhabited space and usable time
20. Which of the following activities provides the best example of the "way to multiply" as discussed in the last paragraph?
A. Conducting evening classes in public school buildings    B. Keeping municipal offices open during the lunch hour
C. Enforcing curfew laws in residential neighborhoods    D. Adding more buildings to a factory complex
Passage 5
Conducting scientific research on this most challenging of groups can be compared to viewing a whale through a keyhole. The hulk of the animal glides past from time to time while we try desperately to figure out what on earth it is. In spite of lots of sparks and smoke, we have so far accomplished little more than a small enlargement of this keyhole. Someday—perhaps in the next hundred years we may have a picture-window-sized keyhole and will finally see what the whole whale looks like. But even then the enigma of the whale will stand, undecided, before us.
I have been studying whales continuously since 1967. One of the delights of that experience has been discovering that there is no way to get a whale to adopt a human timescale. This is no more possible than it would be for a human to adopt a weasel's speed of living. Whales are unhurriable. It's one of their most endearing traits. Nowhere is this more engagingly seen than in trying to figure out what a whale is doing when what you are watching is, for example, play, but you have not yet figured that out. The difficulty comes from the fact that one of the major clues to the function of a behavior pattern is the rhythm of its occurrence. Because we commonly associate play with quick motions, the key to being able to recognize play in whales is learning to think differently—in terms of long, slow rhythms, where things occur very lingeringly (it would be a comparable problem to learn to recognize play in snails, or sloths, or tortoises). To understand whales one must be deeply patient, must slow way down and be content to observe passively for a long time. Only at the end of a day may one say to oneself, "Now let me see; what did I see? Well, I saw the whale do this, and then it did this...and then this ....and then.... For heaven's sake, it was play I was looking at." In order to observe whales, you must be willing to set your metronome on adagio. Then, to understand what you have seen, you must fast-forward through your observations by setting your metronome to allegro.
During the first ten years of my career in biology, I was an experimentalist. I worked in neurophysiology and behavior and did experiments on how bats determine the direction from which sound is coming, how owls locate their prey in total darkness by hearing it, and how moths determine the direction from which a bat is approaching (so they can make evasive maneuvers to avoid it). When I started studying whales—a group of species upon which it is all but impossible to experiment—I worried whether I would find the work stimulating enough or whether it would seem boring simply observing, without ever being able to manipulate anything or do an experiment. I had enjoyed experimental work—at that time of my life I liked manipulating things—yet I had very little idea of how to make good, passive field observations. But I soon appreciated the greater rewards of finding things out through passive observations. I soon realized that the constraints posed by passive observation can be more challenging than those posed by experimental work. It is rather like the constraints of the sonnet form, which make composing poetry exquisitely challenging. Passive observation requires a subtler way of thinking, and the result can be sonnets rather than ballads.
21. The primary purpose of the passage is to ______.
A. reveal how a biologist became interested in whale research    B. describe one scientist's experience of working with whales
C. discuss the ways in which whales are similar to other mammals    D. highlight the dangers involved when conducting whale research
22. In Para. 1, the phrase "sparks and smoke" primarily serves to suggest ______.
A. that a direct approach is futile    B. that science can seem magical
C. how dangerous the work can be    D. how vigorous the efforts have been
23. In Para. 2, the author treats play as ______.
A. a type of behavior that in certain species may not initially be seen for what it is    B. a characteristically human behavior that is surprising to find in animals like whales
C. apparently purposeless behavior that may nevertheless serve an important function    D. behavior found in many species but in forms that defy comparison between species
24. The reference to "The sonnet form" (line 57) primarily serves to ______.
A. emphasize the need to discard outmoded constraints    B. illustrate how conciseness can enhance communication
C. convey a sense of appreciation for an apparent limitation    D. show the advantages and disadvantages of a type of scientific observation
25. The last paragraph describes all of the following EXCEPT ______.
A. the research the author did before turning to the study of whales    B. the author's motivation for choosing whales as a subject for research
C. the change in methodology that working with whales required of the author    D. the author's concern about having the ability to conduct a different type of research
Passage 6
The earliest controversies about the relationship between photography and art centered on whether photography's fidelity to appearances and dependence on a machine allowed it to be a fine art as distinct from merely a practical art. Throughout the nineteenth century, the defense of photography was identical with the struggle to establish it as a fine art. Against the charge that photography was a soulless, mechanical copying of reality, photographers asserted that it was instead a privileged way of seeing, a revolt against commonplace vision, and no less worthy an art than painting.
Ironically, now that photography is securely established as a fine art, many photographers find it pretentious or irrelevant to label it as such. Serious photographers variously claim to be finding, recording, impartially observing, witnessing events, exploring themselves—anything but making works of art. In the nineteenth century, photography's association with the real world placed it in an ambivalent relation to art; late in the twentieth century, an ambivalent relation exists because of the Modernist heritage in art. That important photographers are no longer willing to debate whether photography is or is not a fine art, except to proclaim that their own work is not involved with art, shows the extent to which they simply take for granted the concept of art imposed by the triumph of Modernism: the better the art, the more subversive it is of the traditional aims of art.
Photographers' disclaimers of any interest in making art tell us more about the harried status of the contemporary notion of art than about whether photography is or is not art. For example, those photographers who suppose that, by taking pictures, they are getting away from the pretensions of art as exemplified by painting remind us of those Abstract Expressionist painters who imagined they were getting away from the intellectual austerity of classical Modernist painting by concentrating on the physical act of painting. Much of photography's prestige today derives from the convergence of its aims with those of recent art, particularly with the dismissal of abstract art implicit in the phenomenon of Pop painting during the 1960's. Appreciating photographs is a relief to sensibilities tired of the mental exertions demanded by abstract art. Classical Modernist painting—that is, abstract art as developed in different ways by Picasso, Kandinsky, and Matisse—presuppose highly developed skills of looking and a familiarity with other paintings and the history of art. Photography, like Pop painting, reassures viewers that art is not hard; photography seems to be more about its subjects than about art.
Photography, however, has developed all the anxieties and self-consciousness of a classic Modernist art. Many professionals privately have begun to worry that the promotion of photography as an activity subversive of the traditional pretensions of art has gone so far that the public will forget that photography is a distinctive and exalted activity—in short, an art.
26. In the passage, the author is primarily concerned with ______.
A. explaining how photography emerged as a fine art after the controversies of the nineteenth century    B. identifying the ways that recent movements in painting and sculpture have influenced the techniques employed by serious photographers
C. explaining the attitudes of serious contemporary photographers toward photography as art and placing those attitudes in their historical context    D. defining the various approaches that serious contemporary photographers take toward their art and assessing the value of each of those approaches
27. Which of the following adjectives best describes "the concept of art imposed by the triumph of Modernism" as the author represents it in Para.2?
A. Mechanical    B. Paradoxical
C. Superficial    D. Dramatic
28. The author introduces Abstract Expressionist painters (Para. 3) in order to ______.
A. provide an example of artists who, like serious contemporary photographers, disavowed traditionally accepted aims of modern art    B. call attention to artists whose works often bear a physical resemblance to the works of serious contemporary photographers
C. set forth an analogy between the Abstract Expressionist painters and classical Modernist painters    D. provide an explanation of why serious photography, like other contemporary visual forms, is not and should not pretend to be an art
29. According to the passage, which of the following best explains the reaction of serious contemporary photographers to the question of whether photography is an art?
A. The photographers' belief that their reliance on an impersonal machine to produce their art requires the surrender of the authority of their personal vision    B. The photographers' fear that serious photography may not be accepted as an art by the contemporary art public
C. The influence of Abstract Expressionist painting and Pop Art on the subject matter of the modern photograph    D. The photographers' belief that the best art is subversive of art as it has previously been defined
30. It can be inferred from the passage that the author most probably considers serious contemporary photography to be a ______.
A. contemporary art that is struggling to be accepted as fine art    B. craft requiring sensitivity but by no means an art
C. modern art that displays the Modernist tendency to try to subvert the prevailing aims of art    D. modern art that displays the tendency of all Modernist art to become increasingly formal and abstract
Passage 7
About a century ago, the Swedish physical scientist Arrhenius proposed a law of classical chemistry that relates chemical reaction rate to temperature. According to the Arrhenius equation, chemical reactions are increasingly unlikely to occur as temperatures approach absolute zero, and at absolute zero (zero degrees Kelvin, or minus 273 degrees Celsius) reactions stop. However, recent experimental evidence reveals that although the Arrhenius equation is generally accurate in describing the kind of chemical reaction that occurs at relatively high temperatures, at temperatures closer to zero a quantum-mechanical effect known as tunneling comes into play; this effect accounts for chemical reactions that are forbidden by the principles of classical chemistry. Specifically, entire molecules can "tunnel" through the barriers of repulsive forces from other molecules and chemically react even though these molecules do not have sufficient energy, according to classical chemistry, to overcome the repulsive barrier.
The rate of any chemical reaction, regardless of the temperature at which it takes place, usually depends on a very important characteristic known as its activation energy. Any molecule can be imagined to reside at the bottom of a so-called potential well of energy. A chemical reaction corresponds to the transition of a molecule from the bottom of one potential well to the bottom of another. In classical chemistry, such a transition can be accomplished only by going over the potential barrier between the wells, the height of which remain constant and are called the activation energy of the reaction. In tunneling, the reacting molecules tunnel from the bottom of one to the bottom of another well without having to rise over the barrier between the two wells. Recently researchers have developed the concept of tunneling temperature: the temperature below which tunneling transitions greatly outnumber Arrhenius transitions, and classical mechanics gives way to its quantum counterpart.
This tunneling phenomenon at very low temperatures suggested my hypothesis about a cold prehistory of life: the formation of rather complex organic molecules in the deep cold of outer space, where temperatures usually reach only a few degrees Kelvin. Cosmic rays (high-energy protons and other particles) might trigger the synthesis of simple molecules, such as interstellar formaldehyde, in dark clouds of interstellar dust. Afterward complex organic molecules would be formed, slowly but surely, by means of tunneling. After I offered my hypothesis, Hoyle and Wickramasinghe argued that molecules of interstellar formaldehyde have indeed evolved into stable polysaccharides such as cellulose and starch. Their conclusions, although strongly disputed, have generated excitement among investigators such as myself who are proposing that the galactic clouds are the places where the pre-biological evolution of compounds necessary to life occurred.
31. The author of the passage is primarily concerned with ______.
A. initiating a debate about the kinds of chemical reactions required for the development of life    B. explaining how current research in chemistry may be related to broader biological concerns
C. reconciling opposing theories about chemical reactions    D. clarifying inherent ambiguities in the law of classical chemistry
32. According to the passage, classical chemical reactions and tunneling reactions are alike in which of the following ways?
A. In both types of reactions, reacting molecules have to rise over the barrier between the wells.    B. In neither type of reaction does the rate of a chemical reaction depend on its activities energy.
C. In neither type of reaction does the height of the barrier between the wells remain constant    D. In both types of reaction, a transition is made from the bottom of one potential well to the bottom of another.
33. The author's attitude toward the theory of a cold pre-history of life can best be described as ______.
A. skeptical    B. mildly positive
C. very supportive    D. pointedly critical
34. Which of the following best describes the hypothesis of Hoyle and Wickramasinghe as it is presented in the passage?
A. Cosmic rays can directly synthesize complex organic molecules.    B. Molecules of interstellar formaldehyde can evolve into complex organic molecules.
C. The galactic clouds are the places where pre-biological evolution of compounds necessary to life occurred.    D. Complex organic molecules can be synthesized from stable polysaccharides such as cellulose and starch.
35. Which of the following best describes the organization of the first two paragraphs of the passage?
A. The author presents a law of classical chemistry in order to introduce a kind of chemical reaction that differs from it and then explains the essential difference between the two.    B. The author cites an apparent contradiction to the principles of classical chemistry and then explains the process of a chemical reaction to show there is in fact no contradiction.
C. The author cites a basic principle of classical chemistry and then describes the research from which that principle was developed.    D. The author presents the fundamental rules of classical chemistry in order to introduce an explanation of a specific chemical reaction.
Passage 8
About twice every century, one of the massive stars in our galaxy blows itself apart in a supernova explosion that sends massive quantities of radiation and matter into space and generates shock waves that sweep through the arms of the galaxy. The shock waves heat the interstellar gas, evaporate small clouds, and compress larger ones to the point at which they collapse under their own gravity to form new stars. The general picture that has been developed for the supernova explosion and its aftermath goes something like this. Throughout its evolution, a star is much like a leaky balloon. It keeps its equilibrium figure through a balance of internal pressure against the tendency to collapse under its own weight. The pressure is generated by nuclear reactions in the core of the star which must continually supply energy to balance the energy that leaks out in the form of radiation. Eventually the nuclear fuel is exhausted, and the pressure drops in the core. With nothing to hold it up, the matter in the center of the star collapses inward, creating higher and higher densities and temperatures, until the nuclei and electrons are fused into a super-dense lump of matter known as a neutron star.
As the overlying layers rain down on the surface of the neutron star, the temperature rises, until with a blinding flash of radiation, the collapse is reversed. A thermonuclear shock wave runs through the now expanding stellar envelope, fusing lighter elements into heavier ones and producing a brilliant visual outburst that can be as intense as the light of 10 billion suns. The shell of matter thrown off by the explosion plows through the surrounding gas, producing an expanding bubble of hot gas, with gas temperatures in the millions of degrees. This gas will emit most of its energy at X-ray wavelengths, so it is not surprising that X-ray observatories have provided some of the most useful insights into the nature of the supernova phenomenon. More than twenty supernova remnants have now been detected in X-ray studies.
Recent discoveries of meteorites with anomalous concentrations of certain isotopes indicate that a supernova might have precipitated the birth of our solar system more than four and a half billion years ago. Although the cloud that collapsed to form the Sun and the planets was composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, it also contained carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, elements essential for life as we know it. Elements heavier than helium are manufactured deep in the interior of stars and would, for the most part, remain there if it were not for the cataclysmic supernova explosions that blow giant stars apart. Additionally, supernovas produce clouds of high-energy particles called cosmic rays. These high-energy particles continually bombard the Earth and are responsible for many of the genetic mutations that are the driving force of the evolution of species.
36. Which of the following titles best describes the content of the passage?
A. The Origins and Effects of Supernovas    B. Violent Change in the Universe
C. The Aftermath of a Supernova    D. The Origins and Evolution of Life on Earth
37. According to the passage a neutron star is ______.
A. a gaseous cloud containing heavy elements    B. an intermediate stage between an ordinary star and a supernova
C. the core of an ordinary star that houses the thermonuclear reactions    D. one of billions of meteors that are scattered across the galaxy by a supernova
38. It can be inferred from the passage that the meteorites mentioned by the author in Para.3 ______.
A. contain dangerous concentrations of radioactive materials    B. are larger than the meteors normally found in a solar system like ours
C. contain pieces of a supernova that occurred several billion years ago    D. include material not created in the normal development of our solar system
39. According to the passage what is the first event in the sequence that leads to the occurrence of a supernova?
A. An ordinary star begins to emit tremendous quantities of X-rays.    B. An imbalance between light and heavy elements causes an ordinary star to collapse.
C. A cloud of interstellar gas rich in carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, collapses to form a neutrons star.    D. An ordinary star exhausts its supply of nuclear fuel and begins to collapse.
40. The author implies that ______.
A. life on Earth is endangered by its constant exposure to radiation forces that are released by a supernova    B. lighter elements are formed from heavier elements during a supernova as the heavier elements are torn apart
C. it is sometimes easier to detect supernovas by observation of the X-ray spectrum than by observation of visible wavelengths of light    D. recently discovered meteorites indicate that Earth and other planets of our solar system survived the explosion of a supernova several billion years ago
Part II Translation from English into Chinese (25 points)
Directions: In this section, there are three English passages. You are required to translate them into Chinese. Remember to write the words neatly on the ANSWER SHEET.
Passage 1
Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why yet sometimes seeming to divine a purpose.
From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that man is here for the sake of other men—above all for those upon whose smile and well-being our own happiness depends, and also for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labors of my fellow men, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received. My peace of mind is often troubled by the depressing sense that I have borrowed too heavily from the work of other men.
To ponder interminably over the reason for one's own existence or the meaning of life in general seems to me, from an objective point of view, to be sheer folly. And yet everyone holds certain ideals by which he guides his aspiration and his judgment. The ideals which have always shone before me and filled me with the joy of living are goodness, beauty, and truth. To make a goal of comfort and happiness has never appealed to me; a system of ethics built on this basis would be sufficient only for a herd of cattle.
Passage 2
If asked to give one example of a successful innovation in the past 10 years, what would come to mind first? Apple's shiny cool gadgets like the iPhone and the iPad? Or the emergence of social networking sites such as the Facebook and its various copycats?
We admit these devices and applications have greatly changed our lifestyle. We have never before felt so connected and social networking sites are powerful tools in motivating people to take part in worthy social and civic causes.
We churn out one nifty gadget after another, with bigger screens and less buttons. We tweak text and photo-sharing social networking sites to create a new product to share, perhaps audios and videos. All of these are wonderful, but what about truly groundbreaking and visionary endeavors that will profoundly change the world and human life?
Or, is something wrong with our technological development? Steve Blank, writing in The Huffington Post, blamed social networking and social media companies such as Facebook for stifling innovation. Blank teaches entrepreneurship at Stanford, Columbia and the US' National Science Foundation Innovation Corps. He advises people, especially venture capitalists (VC), who want to commercialize inventions.
Blank argues that the success of Facebook and other social networking and social media companies is diverting venture capital from serious research with a more uncertain payoff. He is talking about research that truly visionary VCs should be supporting.
Instead of "investing in a blockbuster cancer drug that will pay them nothing for 15 years", Blank says VCs are throwing their money at the latest and possibly greatest social-media idea that can run on smart phones or tablets in hopes of scoring a quick return when it goes big. "In the past," Blank wrote, "if you were a successful VC, you could make $100 million on an investment in five to seven years. Today, social media startups can return hundreds of millions or even billions in less than three years"
A 1999 report in the Wired magazine predicted, "The convergence of mobile phones and the Internet, high-speed wireless data access, intelligent networks, and pervasive computing will shape how we work, shop, pay bills, keep appointments, conduct wars, keep up with our children, and write poetry in the next century." Thirteen years later, we are already living in the world the report described. Perhaps it is time for us to ask: What now?
Passage 3
The miniaturization of the components of computer chips has proved unstoppable. In each new generation, those components are smaller and more tightly packed than they were in its predecessor. Progress has been so rapid that chip designers are approaching apparently fundamental barriers to further reductions in size and increases in density. One of these is imposed by the need to wire the components in a chip together, so that they can exchange signals. But, in a miniaturized version of the shift to wireless communication in the macroscopic world, a group of researchers led by Alain Nogaret of the University of Bath, in England, think they can make chips whose components talk to each other wirelessly.
At present, the electronics that transmit and receive the radio waves used in wireless devices are too large to be used within individual chips. But Dr Nogaret believes he can overcome this. Last week he and his colleagues at three other British universities, another in Belgium and a research institute in France won the money to try to build such a device.
The researchers intend to use the standard lithographic（平印刷板） techniques employed in chipmaking to coat a semiconductor with microscopic magnets. These magnets will generate local magnetic fields that point in opposite directions at different points on the chip's surface. Electrons have a property called spin that is affected by magnetic fields, and the team hopes to use an effect called inverse electron-spin resonance（谐振） to make electrons passing through the chip emit microwaves.
The technique they are proposing is the reverse of the process in medical magnetic-resonance imaging. In MRI, the patient is placed in a strong magnetic field that causes some of his body atomic nuclei, which act like tiny magnetized spinning tops, to align themselves with the field. The nuclei are then zapped briefly with a second magnetic field that knocks them out of alignment with the first one. The coils in the scanning apparatus detect these magnetic changes, which are used to build up a map of the part of the body being examined. After a few seconds, the nuclei themselves with the field, radiating small amounts of energy as heat or, more rarely, as radio waves.
In chips, Dr Nogaret proposes to use the spin of the electron rather than the spin of the atomic nucleus. Electrons flowing through the chip would "see" a magnetic field that flips from one direction to the opposite every few hundred nanometres (billionths of a metre). This is the equivalent of zapping to the stationary object with an oscillating magnetic field of the sort used in MRI. The changing magnetic field would force the electrons to oscillate, too, but would not allow them to radiate heat. As a result, they would be forced to emit radio waves—or, rather, microwaves, which are similar but shorter wavelength.
Part III Translation from Chinese into English (15 points)
Directions: In this section, there are two Chinese passages. You are required to translate them into English. Remember to write the answers neatly on the ANSWER SHEET.
Passage 1
过去十年间，中国手机网络的发展可谓有目共睹，几乎每年都会新增约八千万用户，但据英国广播公司报道，在某种程度上，真正的通讯革命才刚刚开始。
今年，中国将取代美国成为世界最大的智能手机市场。对很多中国人来说，智能手机使他们第一次拥有了通向互联网的私人路径。这对于信息技术开发商、尤其是移动手机应用程序开发商来说是非比寻常的机遇。
那么，应用程序开发商是怎么在中国赚到钱的呢？一种方法就是尝试"应用内销售"——他们推出免费的应用程序，一旦用户被吸引，再以较低的价格卖给他们体验增强版。虽然中国的用户只愿意出几分钱来购买升级服务，但只要想想用户多达数百万，加在一起很快就是一大笔钱。不过，对于非游戏类应用程序开发商来说，要发展就得依靠广告收益。
Passage 2
二十多年前科学家就已经知道癌症是一种基因病变。细胞核(nucleus)内的 DNA 被某种物质打乱，细胞突然不再有规则地分裂，而开始大量复制自身。不同于普通细胞的是，这种复制活动永无休止。
癌症细胞和正常细胞差异极大，要理清造成这种差异的事件的先后顺序几乎是不可能的，所以很多年来研究人员一直在攻关这一难题，通过研究健康细胞，他们试图确定是什么变化使得这些健康细胞变成了癌细胞，但却总是以失败告终。
现在情况出现了转机。根据最近的一期《自然》杂志刊载的报道，麻省理工学院的生物医学研究所的一个科研小组终于成功地将人类细胞转变为恶性(malignant)细胞。他们采用了两种不同的细胞类型，通过把三种经过改变的基因嵌入这些细胞的 DNA 中，从而取得这一成就。虽然这些操作都只是在实验室的器皿里完成的，不会立刻带来任何治疗方法，但显然它们是理解这种疾病的关键一步。

参考答案及解析
Part I Reading Comprehension
Passage 1
1.A 【解析】句意理解题。本句句意为"背后的薄大理石的前面是混凝土和钢铁"。A 项意为"现代的现实商业化存在于奢华的外表之下"；B 项意为"这家咖啡馆的风格和外表存在一个基本错误"；C 项意为"设计师将新旧建筑材料进行了一个聪明的结合"；D 项意为"这家咖啡馆是依据物理基础和真正的经济实力的"。分析本句所在位置，由后半句 just as behind the careless profusion of luxury were millions of pence… 正如隐藏在不经意的纷繁的奢侈品背后的数以百万计的便士，提到的奢侈品与代表商业化的便士之间的关系可知，A 项符合文意，故选 A。其他三个选项与本句所表达的意思不符。
2.C 【解析】句意理解题。本句句意为"这个地方是为他而建的"。A 项意为"用一种简单的方式满足一个单纯的人"；B 项意为"寻找像他一样易受骗的人"；C 项意为"满足一个已经存在的需求"；D 项意为"为疲惫的年轻人解压"。根据本句的前一句句意"也许他心中意识到人们已经征服了这个已知的世界的大半，掠夺了整个王国，并且从未达到如此的奢华"，并且由后文 It was built for a great many other people too, and as usual, they were all there. 推测出这种需求极大，并且奢华的咖啡厅的建立满足了已经存在的需求。
3.B 【解析】推理判断题。A 项意为"同时这家咖啡店吸引了大多数的感官"；B 项"这家咖啡店充满了人和温暖"；C 项意为"这家咖啡店的内部与外面的天气形成对比"；D 项意为"它强调了这家咖啡店主人的商业决心"。由第二段中的 Turgis, once more excited by the sight, sound, and smell of it all 可知这家咖啡店吸引住了 Turgis，故 A 项叙述正确；由 The gloom and grime of the streets, the raw air, all November, were at once left behind, forgotten 一句可知外面是 11 月的阴郁的天气，而咖啡店里面的氛围是 golden, tropical, belonging to some high mid-summer of confectionery 就像盛夏一样，故 C 项和 D 项叙述正确。
4.B 【解析】细节判断题。根据第二段中的描述可知作者运用了一些对比的手法，由 The marble entrance hall, piled dizzily with bonbons and cakes, was as crowded and bustling as a railway station. 一句可知是将门廊与火车站对比；由 where an orchestra, led by a young Jewish violinist…acted as a magnet to a thousand girls 一句可知将 orchestra 管弦乐队比作一块磁铁。
5.A 【解析】作者态度题。A 项意为"从根本上批评的"；B 项意为"稍加赞赏的"；C 项意为"非常犹豫不决的"；D 项意为"完全中立的"。分析全文内容可知，文中第一段通过一系列描绘谈到了奢侈品背后的商业化，由 just as behind the careless profusion of luxury were millions of people… 中的 luxury 奢华，有贬义，以及第二段的几个对比手法，由 It seemed with humanity. 讽刺了这个地方充满了所谓的"人性"光芒，综合分析可知作者对这家咖啡店是一种批判的态度，故选 A 项。
Passage 2
6.D 【解析】细节理解题。根据文章第一段中的叙述可知，由 How did a lanky Danish vegetarian who wears T-shirts to important meetings and votes only for left-wing politicians become the great Satan of environmentalism? 可知他遭到了环保主义者的反对；由 By telling everyone he is an environmentalist but sounding like the opposite. 以及后面的内容可知他表达自己是一个环保主义者，但是他的一些论点和看法与此相悖，所以遭到了很多环保主义者的反对，故应选 D 项：因为他声称自己是一个环保主义者但是质疑环境问题和以前一样。
7.A 【解析】推理判断题。根据第二段第一句 The book, which was published in English last year, became a best seller, and conservatives worldwide use its ideas to justify inaction… 可知这本书是一本畅销书，全世界很多保守党都关注了这本书；再由 Some scientists say they initially hoped to ignore Lomborg but in the wake of his book's popularity have reacted with a fury rarely seen in academia. 可知很多的科学家也都关注了这本书，所以综合分析可知这本书受到了很多公众以及专家学者的关注，故 A 项叙述最符合文意。
8.C 【解析】细节理解题。根据第二段中的内容 and conservatives worldwide use its ideas to justify inaction on such issues as deforestation and global warming. "We should do something that actually does good and not sounds good," 可知一些保守党根据这一观点认为对于采伐森林和全球变暖这些问题并不严重，认为他们对于这些问题采取的不作为态度是正当的，综合分析可知 C 项"这个问题并不是一个需要花大成本去解决的严重问题"符合文意，故选 C。
9.B 【解析】细节理解题。根据文章第三段最后一句内容"We are deeply disturbed that Cambridge University Press would publish and promote an error-filled, poorly referenced and non-peer-reviewed work," they write in a letter calling on Cambridge to transfer publishing rights to a popular, non-scholarly press. 可知科学家呼吁剑桥大学出版社不应该出版这样的错误满篇、参考不足、没有先行评审的书籍，应该把这本书出版权给一个普遍的、非学术性的出版社，综合分析可知 B 项符合文意，故选 B。
10.D 【解析】推理判断题。根据最后一段内容 That's why it's a shame so many of the attacks on Lomborg rely on name calling. All that does is to avoid what could be a valuable debate on the substance of environmental policy—and, of course, help Lomborg sell books. 可知作者认为对于 Lomborg 的攻击更多的是辱骂，这样做只会使得他的书卖的更好，对于解决环境问题以及这样有价值的研究讨论是没有作用的，其他三项表达均与文意不符，故选 D 项。
Passage 3
11.C 【解析】作者意图题。A 项意为"为了敦促医院收回他们的决策权力"；B 项意为"批判医生太多控制病人"；C 项意为"为了分析在健康医疗中的一些重要的经济因素"；D 项意为"猜测病人支付的能力和接受的治疗之间的关系"。文章从第一段开始引入经济关系中的"提供者"与"消费者"之间的关系，然后引出医疗健康中的医患关系，且全文 the doctor-patient relationship 多次出现，故 D 项排除；由文章内容可知主要是分析了 economic relationship 即医患关系中的经济因素，故应选 C 项符合文意。
12.A 【解析】细节理解题。由第二段中的内容 it is the physician who usually makes all significant purchasing decisions: whether the patient should return "next Wednesday," whether X-rays are needed, whether drugs should be prescribed, etc. 可知通常是由医生来决定病人什么时候来复诊、是否需要照 X 光以及需要哪种药，而病人是无法也不会去质疑医生的决定的；且由第三段最后 As a consequence, the medical staff represents the "power center" in hospital policy and decision-making, not the administration. 可知正因为医生在医患关系中的主导作用以及在医院的经济中占有重要位置，因此医务人员在医院代表了"权利中心"进行决策，故应选 A 项。
13.B 【解析】推理判断题。A 项意为：建议病人寻找第二意见；B 项意为：指导病人买更多的医疗服务；C 项意为：利用病人对自己健康的关心；D 项意为：警告病人住院时很有必要的。文章从一开始在分析医患关系，提到医生和病人之间的关系就是经济中的生产者与消费者之间的关系的一个缩影，医生在医患关系中占主导地位，而医生对于医院的经济起到重要的作用，因此作者更倾向医生这么做是为了让病人花费更多的钱来达到自己的经济利益，故应选 B 项更符合作者的看法；此处 C 项是一个干扰项，不可否认医生也是为了病人的健康考虑所以会安排复诊，但是作者在本文中更多的是揭露医患之间的经济关系，故应选 B。
14.A 【解析】细节理解题。A 项意为"控制医疗成本的一项提议"；B 项意为"对一种新的医学治疗的一次讨论"；C 项意为"对美国通货膨胀原因的分析"；D 项意为"针对医生的玩忽职守诉讼的研究"。根据文章最后一段的阐述可知，文章主要是以医患关系中医生作为主导这一论点开展的，在文章的最后也提到 We estimate that about 75-80 percent of health-care expenditures are determined by physicians, not patients. For this reason, economy measures directed at patients or the general public is relatively ineffective. 70-80% 的医疗开支都是由医务人员决定的，而不是病人。正因为这个原因，针对病人或者大众的经济措施是相对无效的。作者希望通过揭露医生在医患关系中的决定性作用来针对控制医疗的成本给出建议。故应选 A 项。
15.D 【解析】推理判断题。A 项"谨慎的"；B 项"蔑视的"；C 项"好奇的"；D 项"分析的"。纵观全文可知，作者一开始阐述了经济关系中的两大主体—生产者和消费者，然后进一步提到了医患关系是这一经济关系的缩影，从而揭露出医生在医疗经济中占有绝对的主导地位。通过一步步的分析总结出这一结论从而能够给予建议，因此这篇文章主要是针对社会现象的本质的分析性文章，故选 D。
Passage 4
16.C 【解析】写作目的题。本题是问这篇文章的写作目的，A 项意为"为了规劝读者多加利用他们的午夜时间"；B 项意为"为了讨论持续的人类活动对个人和团体是有害的"；C 项意为"为了探讨对于不断利用时间与人们扩张的历史之间是如何联系的"；D 项意为"为了批判不断变化的劳动方式已经主宰了人类的生活"。本题可通过文中出现的"spreading"、"edge northward"、"This extension across all hours of the day"以及"Day and night, over thousands of years, reveal to us widening networks of human settlements and illumination being prolonged after dark."日以继夜地，几千年以来，给我们揭示了人们的定居点不断扩大的网络以及天黑之后照明工具的延长"等都表明了本文的写作目的是分析人类活动的扩张与利用时间之间的关系。故选 C。
17.C 【解析】推理判断题。本题是问第二段中所举的例子表明的意思。A 项意为"野心和贪婪"；B 项意为"孤独和陪伴"；C 项意为"夜间和白天时间的利用"；D 项意为"工作和娱乐的目的"。由第二段中的"There is widespread factory shift work. Airports, gasoline stations, hotels, restaurants and broadcasters operate incessantly. Data-processing departments of insurance companies and banks are astir all night."列举了一些需要倒班的工作，其中很多需要在午夜和凌晨工作，所以分析可知举例的目的是为了说明人类对于夜间和白天时间的充分利用，故 C 项符合题意。
18.B 【解析】推理判断题。A 项意为"提醒读者无限迁移的所带来的威胁"；B 项意为"邀请读者从视觉上想象人类的历史"；C 项意为"为读者做好预期的变化和后果的准备"；D 项意为"推广在工作或者休闲活动中对于夜间时间的利用"。所给词 look 意为"看"；hover 意为"盘旋"；watch 意为"观察，观看"，这三个词语均与 B 项中的"visually（视觉上的）"对应。故应选 B。
19.D 【解析】推理判断题。A 项意为"工人的生产力和国家财富"；B 项意为"科学知识和个人幸福"；C 项意为"充满竞争的工作需求和可利用的时间"；D 项意为"居住空间和可利用的时间"。根据第一段中的"having first occupied much of the usable space in the world, we are filling its usable time"在第一次占领了世界上大部分的可用空间后，我们正在填补其可用的时间以及划线词前面的"The surface is not uniformly occupied. The hours are not uniformly lit."表面没有被均匀地占据，可知 both 是指空间上和时间上的占有，故应选 D。
20.A 【解析】推理判断题。A 项意为"在公立学校里设立夜校课程"；B 项意为"在午饭时间开放市政办公"；C 项意为"在住宅社区施行宵禁法"；D 项意为"添加更多的工厂建筑"。由文中最后一段提到了，在白天已经非常拥挤了，容纳量趋于紧张。这个拥挤肯定是指一些空间场所。再结合"Some people dislike the commotion of the day and crave the serenity of night."一些人不喜欢白天的骚动，渴望夜晚的宁静，以及文中对 way to multiply 的定义 Using the same space more of the time 更多地利用同一个空间，可知应选 A 项更符合。
Passage 5
21.B 【解析】写作意图题。本题询问这篇文章的写作目的。A 项意为"为了揭示一个生物学家是如何对鲸鱼研究感兴趣的"；B 项意为"描述了一个科学家与鲸鱼一起工作的经历"；C 项意为"讨论了在哪些方面鲸鱼和其他哺乳类动物相似"；D 项意为"为了突出进行鲸鱼研究工作中存在的危险"。根据文章的内容可知，本文主要是一个记叙文，作者描述了自从 1967 年以来就一直在研究鲸鱼。那段经历的一个愉快之处就是发现我们永远也没有可能让鲸鱼去使用人类的时间观。综合可知 B 项符合文章的目的，故选 B。
22.D 【解析】词义猜测题。"sparks and smoke"本意为"火花和烟雾"。A 项意为"一个直接的方法是徒劳的"；B 项意为"科学看起来似乎很神奇"；C 项意为"这项工作有多么危险"；D 项意为"有多么的努力"。根据划线句前后语境可知这只鲸鱼的庞大身躯从我们身边游过，而我们还在拼命琢磨它到底是什么东西。尽管付出了种种努力，到目前为止我们也不过就相当于把那个钥匙孔扩大了一点点。故划线词是与"努力"有关的，故选 D。
23.A 【解析】推理判断题。A 项意为"特定物种的行为方式最初无法被看到是什么的行为"；B 项意为"一个典型的能在鲸鱼等动物中发现的令人惊讶的人类行为"；C 项意为"显然无益的行为却可能发挥着重要的作用"；D 项意为"在许多物种中发现但是以违背物种之间进行的对比的一种形式存在的行为"。根据第二段内容可知，一个行为模式的作用最大的线索之一是它出现的节奏。因为我们通常会把玩耍和快速的行动联系在一起，能够意识到鲸鱼在玩耍的关键就在于要有不同的思维，它们玩耍要有更长，更缓慢的节奏，动作更加地绵延迟缓。故选 A。
24.C 【解析】推理判断题。"The sonnet form"十四行诗的形式，所在句的句意为：但是我很快就开始体会到静静观察事物的好处和回报，我很快意识到了静静观察中的限制可能比试验性工作的限制更有挑战性。A 项意为"强调要抛弃过时的约束的需要"；B 项意为"说明了简洁是如何加强沟通的"；C 项意为"传达了对一个明显的限制的赞赏"；D 项意为"展示出一种科学观察的优点和缺点"。通过分析所在句句意为可知这里强调的是"passive"观察，也是受限制的，故应选 C 项更符合文意。
25.B 【解析】细节理解题。A 项意为"作者在开始从事鲸鱼研究之前的调查"；B 项意为"作者选择鲸鱼作为研究的主题的动机"；C 项意为"和鲸鱼工作时所需要的方法的变化"；D 项意为"作者对由经历进行不同类型的研究的关注"。根据最后一段开头的叙述可知作者讲到了自己在做鲸鱼的研究之前所做过的研究，故 A 项有涉及；由这一段后文内容 But I soon appreciated the greater rewards of finding things out through passive observations… 可知作者提到了在做鲸鱼的研究工作时需要翻遍方法以及自己对不同的充满挑战的研究方法的关注，故 C 和 D 两项均有涉及；但这段中作者并没有提到选择鲸鱼作为研究的动机和目的是什么，可知只有 B 项没有提及。
Passage 6
26.C 【解析】主旨大意题。题目问道作者的文章主要是关注什么。A 项意为"解释了在十九世纪的争议之后摄影是怎样成作为美术出现的"；B 项意为"鉴别在近期影响了被严肃的摄影师所采纳的技术的绘画和雕塑艺术中所用到的方式"；C 项意为"揭示了严肃的当代摄影师对于摄影作为艺术以及在历史背景下的艺术态度"；D 项意为"定义严肃的当代摄影师对他们的艺术所采取的各种方法和评估这些方法的价值"。根据文章第一段首句 The earliest controversies about the relationship between photography and art centered on whether photography's fidelity to appearances and dependence on a machine allowed it to be a fine art as distinct from merely a practical art. 最早的关于摄影和艺术的关系的争论主要集中在摄影对于外表的保真度和对机器的依赖是否能够允许它成为一门艺术，有别于仅仅实用的美术。后文主要通过讨论摄影是否是一门艺术这个问题，然后分析了论点双方对于这个问题的态度。综合分析后可知主要是分析了摄影师对待艺术的态度，故应选 C 项。
27.B 【解析】细节理解题。the concept of art imposed by the triumph of Modernism 意为"被现代主义的胜利所强加的艺术的概念"。A 项意为"呆板的，机械的"；B 项意为"矛盾的"；C 项意为"表面的，肤浅的"；D 项意为"引人注目的"。本句所在句子意为"重要的摄影家们不再愿意辩论摄影是或者不是一种艺术，除了声称他们自己的作品不再涉及艺术，表明了在多大程度上他们简单地认为"被现代主义的胜利所强加的艺术的概念是理所当然的"：艺术越好，越颠覆艺术的传统目的"。根据句意可知作者所表达的内容是矛盾的，故应选 B 项。
28.A 【解析】细节理解题。题目问作者介绍抽象表现主义画家的目的。A 项意为"是为了举出像严肃的现代摄影师那样的艺术家，否认传统上公认的现代艺术的目的"；B 项意为"唤起对那些作品通常与严肃的现代摄影师的作品有相似之处的艺术家的关注"；C 项意为"提出一个抽象表现主义画家和经典现代主义画家之间的类比"；D 项意为"给出一个对于为什么严肃的摄影师，就像其他当代视觉形式一样，没有也不应该假装是艺术的解释"。由第三段第二句 For example, those photographers who suppose that, by taking pictures, they are getting away from the pretensions of art as exemplified by painting remind us of those Abstract Expressionist painters who imagined they were getting away from the intellectual austerity of classical Modernist painting by concentrating on the physical act of painting. 可知作者主要是想举出这样的例子，故应选 A 项。
29.D 【解析】推理判断题。题目问哪一项最好地解释了严肃的当代摄影师对于摄影是否是一门艺术的反应。A 项意为"摄影师对于一个没有人情味的机器来产生他们的艺术对于个人愿景的权威的妥协的信念"；B 项意为"摄影师对于严肃的摄影也许不会被作为一门艺术被当代艺术大众所接受的害怕"；C 项意为"抽象表现主义绘画与流行艺术对于现代摄影的影响"；D 项意为"摄影师对于最好的艺术是颠覆性的艺术因为它曾经被定义过的信念"。由文章最后一句 Many professionals privately have begun to worry that the promotion of photography as an activity subversive of the traditional pretensions of art has gone so far that the public will forget that photography is a distinctive and exalted activity—in short, an art. 许多专业摄影人员私下里已经开始担心，摄影作为艺术活动促进颠覆传统的自命不凡已经走得太远，引起公众忘记摄影是一种独特的高活动——总之，是一种艺术。可知应选 D 项。
30.C 【解析】细节理解题。题目问作者很可能认为严肃的当代摄影是一种 ______。A 项意为"一种正努力要被认可为美术的当代艺术"；B 项意为"一种要求敏感性的工艺，但绝不是艺术"；C 项意为"显示了现代主义的倾向，试图颠覆主流的艺术目标的现代艺术"；D 项意为"显示所有的现代主义艺术的趋势变得越来越正式和抽象的现代艺术"。根据文章内容以及最后一段的阐述 the better the art, the more subversive it is of the traditional aims of art. Many professionals privately have begun to worry that ...of art has gone so far 可知答案应选 C 项。
Passage 7
31.A 【解析】主旨大意题。A 项意为"发起一个关于生命形成所需的各种化学反应种类的讨论"；B 项意为"解释当前的化学研究是如何与更广泛的生物学问题相关联"；C 项意为"协调关于化学反应的反对理论"；D 项意为"澄清经典化学在法律上的含糊不清"。由最后一段内容及第一句 This tunneling phenomenon at very low temperatures suggested my hypothesis about a cold prehistory of life: the formation of rather complex organic molecules in the deep cold of outer space, where temperatures usually reach only a few degrees Kelvin. 这种极低温隧道效应表明了我的关于史前生命的理论：在外太空能够极度寒冷的条件下，在这里通常温度只有几 K 的情况下的相当复杂的有机分子的形成。作者第一段讲了超低温下的化学反应，第二段承接第一段，讲了外太空温度与生命有机体形成的相关问题讨论，故应选 A 项符合文意。
32.D 【解析】推理判断题。题目问道经典化学反应和隧道效应在哪方面相似。A 项意为"在两者反应的种类上，反应分子不得不上升以越过井之间的屏障"；B 项意为"两者的反应中，化学反应效率都没有依赖于它的活动能量本身"；C 项意为"两者反应种类上，井之间的屏障的高度都没有保持不变"；D 项意为"在两种反应种类中，从一个势阱的底部到另一个势阱的底部所产生的转换"。由文章第二段的内容及第三句 A chemical reaction corresponds to the transition of a molecule from the bottom of one potential well to the bottom of another. 一个化学反应应与化学分子从一个势阱的底部到另一个势阱的底部所产生的转变有关，可知应选 D 项。
33.B 【解析】作者态度题。A 项意为"持怀疑态度的"；B 项意为"适当积极的"；C 项意为"非常支持的"；D 项意为"尖锐地批判"。根据文章最后一段第一句 This tunneling phenomenon at very low temperatures suggested my hypothesis about a cold prehistory of life: the formation of rather complex organic molecules in the deep cold of outer space, where temperatures usually reach only a few degrees Kelvin. 这种极低温隧道效应表明了我的关于史前生命的假设：在外太空能够极度寒冷的条件下，在这里通常温度只有几 K 的情况下的相当复杂的有机分子的形成。说明作者对于这个寒冷的史前生命的理论是有积极态度的，但并没有完全支持，C 项表达太绝对，故应选 B 项。
34.B 【解析】推理判断题。题目问道下列哪项能最好地描述霍伊尔和 Wickramasinghe 的猜想。A 项意为"宇宙射线可以直接合成复杂的有机分子"；B 项意为"星际分子甲醛可以进化成复杂的有机分子"；C 项意为"银河云是生命起源以前的物质生活进化所必需的地方"；D 项意为"复杂的有机分子可以从稳定合成纤维素和淀粉等多糖"。通过最后一段的阐述，尤其是 Cosmic rays (high-energy protons and other particles) might trigger the synthesis of simple molecules, such as interstellar formaldehyde, in dark clouds of interstellar dust. 宇宙射线(高能质子和其他粒子)可能引发合成简单的分子，如星际甲醛，在乌云的星际尘埃。以及 molecules of interstellar formaldehyde have indeed evolved into stable polysaccharides such as cellulose and starch 星际分子甲醛确实演变成稳定的纤维素和淀粉等多糖可知应选 B 项。
35.A 【解析】推理判断题。A 项意为"作者提出了一种经典化学法以介绍一种不同于它的化学反应，然后解释了两者之间的本质区别"；B 项意为"作者引用了一个明显矛盾的经典化学原则，然后解释化学反应的过程实际上是没有矛盾"；C 项意为"作者引用了经典的化学基本原理，然后描述了研究开发了这一原则"；D 项意为"作者介绍了经典化学的基本规则是为了介绍特定化学反应的一个解释"。分析全文内容可知应选 A 项。
Passage 8
36.A 【解析】标题归纳题。本题要求找到这篇文章最恰当的标题。A 项意为"超新星的起源和影响"；B 项意为"宇宙中的激变"；C 项意为"超新星的余波"；D 项意为"地球上的生命的起源和演化"。根据文章的内容首先可排除 D 项，因为文中没有提到和重点关注地球上的生命；supernova 作为本文的高频词和关键词可知，应是讲与超新星有关的内容，故应排除 B 项；通过分析文章可知主要是介绍了超新星的起源以及为宇宙所带来的影响，故应选 A 项作为标题最适合。
37.B 【解析】细节理解题。本题是对中子星的定义。A 项意为"一个包含重元素的气态云"；B 项意为"介于一颗普通恒星与超新星之间的中间阶段"；C 项意为"一颗普通拥有热核反应的恒星的核心"；D 项意为"被数十亿超新星散布在银河系中的流星中的一颗"。根据第一段中的描述超新星爆炸加热气态云并且压缩体积巨大的气态云形成新的恒星。中间阶段类似漏气的气球，不断产生能量保持内外压力，最终能量耗尽，星体内部塌陷，形成高密度和高温星体，原子和电子融合形成超级物质，就被称为中子星。可见故应选 B。
38.C 【解析】细节理解题。本题是问第三段中作者提到的陨石。A 项意为"包含着危险的有放射性物质的聚集"；B 项意为"比在像我们一样的太阳系中发现的流星更大"；C 项意为"包含数块在数亿年前就存在的超新星"；D 项意为"不包括在我们的太阳系的发展中创造出的物质"。根据最后一段第一句 Recent discoveries of meteorites with anomalous concentrations of certain isotopes indicate that a supernova might have precipitated the birth of our solar system more than four and a half billion years ago. 最近关于陨石的发现包括有某些异常的核素的聚集表明了一个超新星可能比我们太阳系产生的时间早 45 亿年时间。可知应选 C 项，即陨石包括了在数亿年前就已经存在了的超新星。
39.D 【解析】推理判断题。本题是问导致超新星存在的第一个首要的事件是什么。A 项意为"一颗普通的恒星开始放射出大量的 X 射线"；B 项意为"轻元素和重元素之间的不平衡导致了一颗普通恒星爆炸"；C 项意为"有丰富的碳、氮和氧的星际气体云爆炸形成了中子星"；D 项意为"一颗普通的恒星耗尽供应的核燃料并开始爆炸"。根据第一段的描述：在每一百年中有两次银河系中的大质量的恒星就会在超新星爆炸中将自己分解并发射大量的辐射物质并进入太空生成冲击波而席卷整个银河系。这种星级气体加热激波，蒸发了小云朵，并压缩较大的一些到达在自身引力作用下的爆发点最终形成新的恒星，最终会形成中子星。可知应选 D 项作为第一个发生的事件。
40.C 【解析】推理判断题。A 项意为"地球上的生命因为由超新星释放的恒定辐射力量带来濒危的危险"；B 项意为"较轻的元素是由更重的元素在超新星作为最重的元素被撕裂时形成的"；C 项意为"有时候通过观察 X 射线光谱来探测超新星比通过观察可见光波段来探测更容易"；D 项意为"近期已发现的陨石表明地球和我们太阳系中的其他行星从数亿年前的超新星爆炸中幸存下来"。由第二段中的内容 so it is not surprising that X-ray observatories have provided some of the most useful insights into the nature of the supernova phenomenon. 可知通过观察 X 射线能够提供更多有用的观察，故应选 C 项。
Part II Translation from English into Chinese
Passage 1
【参考译文】
我们在这个世界上的处境是奇怪的：每个人，都是来做一次短暂的访问，不知道是为了什么。不过有时似乎也会觉察到有某种目的。
但是从平日的生活来看，有一件事情我们是很清楚的：我们是为别人而活，最重要的是为了这些人活：他们的笑容和幸福构成了我们快乐的源泉。同时，我们活着还为了另外无数个不相识的生命，怜悯之心，将我们同他们的命运联系起来。每天，很多次，我都会意识到我的肉体生活和精神生活很大程度上是建立在那些活着的，和死去的人们的工作之上的，意识到我必须诚挚地、竭尽全力地努力去回报我所得到的东西。我经常心绪不宁，感觉自己从别人的工作里承袭了太多，这种感觉让我惴惴不安。
总体上在我看来，从客观的角度，没完没了地思考自己为什么会存在，或者是生命有什么意义，是非常愚蠢的行为。不过，每个人都有一些理想，来指引着自己的抱负和辨别是非。始终在我面前闪耀着光芒，并且让我充满活着的喜悦的理想，是善、美和真理。对我来说，以舒适和享乐为目标的生活从来没有吸引力。以这些目标为基础建立起来的一套伦理观点只能满足一群牲畜的需要。
Passage 2
【参考译文】
如果有人让你举出一个过去 10 年间成功创新的例子，你首先想到会是什么？是 iPhone、iPad 等炫酷的苹果产品？还是诸如 Facebook 及众多仿 Facebook 的社交网络的兴起？
我们承认，这些设备和应用极大地改变了我们的生活方式。在此之前，我们从未感觉和这世界连接得如此紧密；在激励人们投身到有价值的社会和公民事业这一方面，社交网络发挥着巨大的作用。
精巧的发明一个接一个地涌现出来——屏幕越来越大，按键越来越少。我们对可以让人们分享文字和图片的社交网络进行改革，创造了一种可以分享音频、视频的新产品。有了云服务，我们可以存储并分享自己的文件。所有这一切都棒极了，但真正意义上，什么才是彻底改变世界和人类生活的富有远见的创造性贡献呢？
我们的技术开发是不是出现了什么问题？史提夫·布兰克在《赫芬顿邮报》上发表文章指责像 Facebook 这样的社交网站和社交媒体公司扼杀了创新。布兰克同时在斯坦福大学、哥伦比亚大学以及美国国家自然科学基金创新研究群体任职，教授创业课程。他会为教授对象提供建议，尤其是那些想将发明商品化的风险投资家们。
布兰克认为 Facebook 等社交网站和社交媒体公司的成功，使得那些回报不算明朗的"严肃研究"不再受到风险资本的青睐。他所说的严肃研究是那些真正有远见的风险投资家应当全力支持的项目。
与其"投资一种十五年间无回报但可能会一鸣惊人的抗癌药品，"布兰克称："如今风险投资家更喜欢钱投向最新、也可能是最棒的，搭载智能手机和平板电脑上的社交媒体，期望其做大的时候能快速收益。"布兰克写道："在过去，如果你是位成功的风险投资家，那些你可以在五至七年内，在一项投资上赚到 1 亿美元（合 6.37 亿元人民币）。今天，社交媒体的新秀们能在不到三年的时间里得到数亿甚至数十亿的回报。"
一则 1999 年发表于《Wired》杂志的报道预言称："移动电话，网络，高速无线数据存取，智能网络和普适计算将会决定我们下个世纪的工作、购物、付账、调情、约会、战争、与孩子相处，甚至是写诗的方式。"十三年后，我们已经生活在了该报道所预言的世界中。也许现在是时候问问我们自己："现在该怎么办？"
Passage 3
【参考译文】
电脑芯片组件的小型化已被证明是不可阻挡的趋势。每一次更新换代，组件相比以前更小巧、排列更紧密。进步如此之快，致使芯片设计者正接近这样的一个明显的根本障碍，就是进一步减小芯片的尺寸和增加其密度。其中需要去攻克的就是将芯片内组件连接到一起，这样他们就可以交换信号。但是，在宏观世界向无线通讯转变的小型化版本里，英国巴斯大学的一个由阿兰诺加雷特领导的研究团队认为他们可以使芯片的组件之间实现无线信号连接。
目前，无线装置中收发无线电波的电子设备太大而无法应用于单个芯片，但诺加雷特博士相信可以克服这个难题。上周他和其他三所英国大学，另一个在比利时和法国研究所的同事们获得资金资助来研发这样一个设备。
研究人员打算应用芯片中标准的光刻平印刷板技术，该技术已经应用于半导体制造行业，将许多极小的磁铁包被到一块半导体上。这些磁铁会产生局部磁场，在芯片的表面不同的点会指向不同的方向。电子具有一种自旋特性，可受磁场影响，研究小组希望利用一种"反电子自旋谐振"效应，让穿过芯片的电子发射微波。
他们计划采用的此项技术与医学上的核磁共振成像过程正好相反，核磁共振成像过程是将患者置于某一强磁场中，该磁场可让患者机体原子核（其运动类似于磁化的陀螺）顺着磁场方向排列。然后，用第二个磁场短时轰击这些原子核，使其脱离第一个磁场阵列。扫描仪上的线圈探测到这些磁场变化，并以此构建出患者受检部位的图谱。几秒钟后，原子核沿磁场方向重新排列，同时放射出少量热能或者无线电波（很少见）。
而就芯片而言，诸如诺加雷特博士打算利用电子而非原子核的自旋。穿过芯片的电子可以识别某一磁场，该磁场每隔几百纳米（十亿分之一米）就变换一次方向，这相当于不断摆动 MRI 中磁场，并令其轰击某一静止物体，不断变化的磁场也可促使电子来回摆动，但不使其散射热能，这样一来，电子仅可发射无线电波或者更好是微波，后者与无线电波类似，但是波长较短。
Part III Translation from Chinese into English
Passage 1
【参考译文】
In the past ten years, the development of mobile network in China has been obvious, and almost 80 million new users will come into the group every year. But according to BBC news, to some extent, the real communication revolution has just begun.
This year, China will take the place of America as the biggest smart phone market in the world. As for many Chinese, it is the smart phone that brings them the first-time private path to the internet. It's the unusual opportunity to Information technology developers, especially for the mobile application developers.
So, how do the app developers earn their money in China? There is one way—that is trying to "make sales in apps"—they launched a free app and once it attracts the users, they will sell them the enhanced one at a lower price. Although Chinese users are willing to pay only a few cents to buy the update service, only thinking of more than millions of users, it will be added up to a large number of money. However, for the non-game application developers, the development must rely on advertising revenue.
Passage 2
【参考译文】
Scientists have known for more than two decades that cancer is a disease of the genes. Something scrambles the DNA inside a nucleus, and suddenly, instead of dividing in a measured fashion, a cell begins to copy itself furiously. Unlike an ordinary cell, it never stops. But describing the process isn't the same as figuring it out. Cancer cells are so radically different from normal ones that it's almost impossible to untangle the sequence of events that made them that way. So for years researchers have been attacking the problem by taking normal cells and trying to determine what changes will turn them cancerous--always without success.
Until now, according to a report in the current issue of Nature, a team of scientists based at M.I.T.'s Whitehead Institute for Bio-medical Research has finally managed to make human cells malignant--a feat they accomplished with two different cell types by inserting just three altered genes into their DNA. While these manipulations were done only in lab dishes and won't lead to any immediate treatment, they appear to be a crucial step in understanding the disease.