江南大学考博英语真题,考博英语试题

江南大学2007年秋季博士研究生入学考试英语试题

考试科目：101英语（A）
Paper One (90 minutes)
Part I Reading Comprehension (50%)
Text 1
Neuroscience shows that the soul is the activity of the brain.
Every evening our eyes tell us that the sun sets, while we know that, in fact, the Earth is turning us away from it. Astronomy taught us centuries ago that common sense is not a reliable guide to reality. Today it is neuroscience that is forcing us to readjust our intuitions. People naturally believe in the Ghost in the Machine: that we have bodies made of matter and spirits made of an ethereal thing. Yes, people acknowledge that the brain is involved in mental life. But they still think of it as a pocket PC for the soul, managing information at the behest of a ghostly user.
Modern neuroscience has shown that there is no user. "The soul" is, in fact, the information-processing activity of the brain. New imaging techniques have tied every thought and emotion to neural activity. And any change to the brain — from strokes, drugs, electricity or surgery — will literally change your mind. But this understanding hasn’t penetrated the conventional wisdom. We tell people to "use their brains," we speculate about brain transplants (which really should be called body transplants) and we express astonishment that meditation, education and psychotherapy can actually change the brain. How else could they work?
This resistance is not surprising. In "Descartes’ Baby," psychologist Paul Bloom argues that a mind-body distinction is built into the very way we think. Children easily accept stories in which a person changes from a frog to a prince, or leaves the body to go where the wild things are. And though kids know the brain is useful for thinking, they deny that it makes them feel sad or love their siblings.
The disconnect between our common sense and our best science is not an academic curiosity. Neuroscience is putting us in unfamiliar predicaments, and if we continue to think of ourselves as shadowy users of our brains we will be needlessly befuddled. The Prozac revolution provides an example. With antidepressant and anti-anxiety drugs so common, critics wonder whether we’re losing the ability to overcome problems through force of will. Many an uncomprehending spouse has asked, "Why don’t you just snap out of it?" But depressed people don’t have lazy souls. The parts of their brains that could "snap out of it" are not working properly. To depressed people it is objectively obvious that their prospects are hopeless. Tweaking the brain with drugs may sometimes be the best way to jumpstart the machinery that we call the will.
Prozac shouldn’t be dispensed like mints, of course, but the reason is not that it undermines the will. The reason is that emotional pain, like physical pain, is not always pathological. Anxiety is an impetus to avoid invisible threats, and most of us would never meet a deadline without it. Low mood may help us recalibrate our prospects after a damaging loss. But just as surgeons don't force patients to endure agony to improve their characters, people shouldn’t be forced to endure anxiety or depression beyond what’s needed to prompt self-examination.
To many, the scariest prospect is medication that can make us better than well by enhancing mood, memory and attention. Such drugs, they say, will undermine striving and sacrifice; they are a kind of cheating, like giving the soul a corked bat. But anything that improves our functioning — from practice and education to a good night’s sleep and a double espresso — changes the brain. As long as people are not coerced, it’s unclear why we should tolerate every method of brain enrichment but one.
In Galileo’s time, the counter-intuitive discovery that the Earth moved around the sun was laden with moral danger. Now it seems obvious that the motion of rock and gas in space has nothing to do with right and wrong. Yet to many people, the discovery that the soul is the activity of the brain is just as fraught, with pernicious implications for everything from criminal responsibility to our image of ourselves as a species. Turning back the clock on the ultimate form of self-knowledge is neither possible nor desirable. We can live with the new challenges from brain science. But it will require setting aside childlike intuitions and traditional dogmas, and thinking afresh about what makes people better off and worse off.
1. According to the passage, the conventional wisdom believes that ________.
A. medication can change the brain
B. the soul is the information-processing activity of the brain
C. the brain is used to think, while the soul controls emotions
D. there is no distinction between mind and body
2. Which of the following about the depression is NOT true according to the passage?
A. People can overcome depression through force of will.
B. People are unable to overcome depression by themselves.
C. Depression is a disease caused by the malfunction of the brain.
D. Drugs are perhaps the best solution to depression.
3. Which of the following is TRUE about anxiety according to the passage?
A. Anxiety is caused by mental disorder.
B. Anxiety in moderation is helpful to human beings.
C. Enduring anxiety is the exercise of one's power of will.
D. When taking examinations, students shouldn’t feel anxious.
4. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT mentioned as a method that improves the function of the brain?
A. Medication.
B. Good sleep.
C. Education.
D. Surgery.
5. The passage can be best titled as ____.
A. Anxiety
B. The Prozac Revolution
C. The Mind-body Distinction
D. How to Think About the Mind
Text 2
The United Nations Conference on Drug Abuse that took place earlier this year in Vienna, was a very productive meeting. As never before, the nations of the world demonstrated a willingness to put aside ideological and individual differences to confront a common threat.
Most previous international gatherings on this subject have not seen the same intensity of delegate interest. Many nations have gone through a shock of recognition. A decade ago, only those nations identified as "consuming countries" were thought to have a serious drug problem. Today, not only have many "producing countries" also become "consuming countries", but many have witnessed the growth within their borders of drug trafficking gangs, often allied with leftist guerrillas (not members of a regular army) and terrorists, so powerful they present a danger to the state’s stability. Many developing countries now have the worst of both worlds, in that they grow their own narcotics (drugs) and addict large numbers of their own people. There is a growing sense of fright in many governments that matters are out of control and the single way to recover is through cooperation with other countries.
The high points of the conference were the drafting of two documents, both of which were adopted without a dissenting vote. One was a joint declaration of intent to combat drug abuse and trafficking. The other consisted of many detailed suggestions for particular regional and national policies.
Overall, the conference developed a two-level action plan. The focus was on ways to curb (control) the demand for dangerous drugs and on methods of destroying or at least interrupting the distribution process.
On the demand side, the delegates recommended the establishment of a system for collecting information on the nature and scope of narcotics use. In addition, they concluded that drug education should be taught in schools and that governments and labor organizations should act together in the anti-drug campaign in the workplace. The delegates also recommended strict adherence to international agreements to curb the supply of narcotics.
President Ronald Reagan, in his statement to the conference, reflected a somber but hopeful view. Noting the magnitude of the effort necessary, the President remarked, "That’s why this conference is so encouraging and so important — it presents an excellent opportunity for the nations of the world to build cooperation and plan effective strategies and tactics. It won’t be easy. The alternative, however, is the continued internal decay of our societies."
6. In the second paragraph, "many have witnessed the growth" of _______.
A. their borders
B. drug trafficking gangs
C. leftist guerrillas
D. terrorists
7. What statement is true?
A. The UN had a meeting on Drug Abuse in Vietnam.
B. The UN meeting on Drug Abuse was successful.
C. Many countries demonstrated ideological differences in the meeting.
D. The nations of the world are never willing to change their individual differences.
8. Many developing countries now have the worst of both worlds because ______.
A. they grow their own narcotics
B. they addict large numbers of their own people
C. they present a danger to the state’s stability
D. Both A and B
9. ______ voted for the two documents.
A. All the delegates
B. Few delegates
C. No delegates
D. Many delegates
10. President Ronald Reagan reflected his somber view by saying ______.
A. that’s why this conference is so encouraging and important
B. it presents an excellent opportunity
C. the alternative, however, is the continued decay of our societies
D. for the nations of the world to build cooperation and plan effective strategies and tactics
Text 3
Since Beaver College in the Philadelphia suburbs became Arcadia University four years ago, applications have doubled. Western Maryland College was also looking for a boost when it became McDaniel College in 2002. And California State University, Hayward, decided last January that a name change to California State University, East Bay, would help it reach out to students in new communities.
Names have gained increasing importance in the competitive world of higher education. As colleges jockey for market share, they are looking for names that project the image they want or reflect the changes they hope to make. Trenton State College, for example, became the College of New Jersey nine years ago when it began raising admissions standards and appealing to students from throughout the state.
"All I hear in higher education is, ‘Brand, brand, brand,’" said Tim Westerbeck, who specializes in branding and is managing director of Lipman Hearne, a marketing firm based in Chicago that works with universities and other nonprofit organizations. "There has been a sea change over the last 10 years. Marketing used to be almost a dirty word in higher education."
Not all efforts at name changes are successful, of course. In 1997, the New School for Social Research became New School University to reflect its growth into a collection of eight colleges, offering a list of majors that includes psychology, music, urban studies and management. But New Yorkers continued to call it the New School.
Now, after spending an undisclosed sum on an online survey and a marketing consultant’s creation of "naming structures," "brand architecture" and "identity systems", the university has come up with a new name: the New School. Beginning Monday, it will phase in new logos, stationery, banners, business cards and even new names for the individual colleges, all to include the words "the New School."
"My view is that you never argue with the customer about your name," said Bob Kerrey, the university’s president.
Names are important in the repositioning of colleges, but usually the process does not end there.
"The name becomes a powerful organizing principle for the product," Mr. Westerbeck, the branding expert, said. "It’s the words and imagery of how the institution is going to be identified in the marketplace."
These days, he said, "Every college and university is trying to articulate what makes it uniquely valuable."
The new efforts are directly tied to the growth in the number of colleges and universities, including profit-making ones like ITT Technical Institute and the University of Phoenix, and with it, a more intense competition for students.
The idea at the New School, Mr. Kerrey said, is to unify the university’s disparate units, clarify its mission and project to potential students and donors what makes the place unusual. That, he said, and the fact that New School University is not particularly good English.
Changes in names generally reveal significant shifts in how a college wants to be perceived. In altering its name from Cal State, Hayward, to Cal State, East Bay, the university hoped to project its expanding role in two mostly suburban counties east of San Francisco.
The University of Southern Colorado, a state institution, became Colorado State University at Pueblo two years ago, hoping to highlight an array of internal changes, including offering more graduate programs and setting higher admissions standards.
Beaver College turned itself into Arcadia University in 2001 for several reasons: to sever the connection with its past as a women’s college, to promote its growth into a full-fledged university and, officials acknowledged, to eliminate salacious jokes about the college’s old name on late-night television and "morning zoo" radio shows.
Many college officials said changing a name and image could produce substantial results. At Arcadia, in addition to the rise in applications, the average student’s SAT score has increased by 60 points, Juli Roebeck, an Arcadia spokeswoman, said.
11. According to the passage, name changes are important for colleges in the following respects EXCEPT ______.
A. repositioning colleges
B. projecting a desirable image
C. reflecting possible changes
D. improving the quality of colleges
12. The following new names of colleges have been proved to be successful EXCEPT ______.
A. the College of New Jersey
B. Arcadia University
C. New School University
D. McDaniel College
13. The following are the reasons for the name change of Beaver College EXCEPT _______.
A. to raise admissions standards
B. to project a new image of the college
C. to attract male students to the college
D. to promote the growth of the college
14. The following are the results brought about by name changes EXCEPT ______.
A. the rise in applications
B. the increase of students’ scores
C. the rise in admissions standards
D. the growth in the number of colleges and universities
15. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. More and more colleges and universities are changing their names.
B. Most of the new names are better than the old ones.
C. Name changing helps colleges become profit-making institutions.
D. Good names can help colleges attract more students.
Text 4
Adopted at birth in 1967 by a family of Jehovah’s Witnesses, I was asked from an early age to behave as much like an adult as possible. Three times a week in the Kingdom Hall in Miami, my brother and I strove to sit perfectly still in our chairs. Our mother carried a wooden spoon in her purse and was quick to take us outside for beatings if we fidgeted.
At 5, I sat on stage in the Kingdom Hall in Surrey, England, where my father’s job had taken us. Nervously pushing my memorized lines into the microphone, I faced my mother, who was seated across from me. We were demonstrating for the congregation exactly how a Bible study with a "worldly" person, or non-Witness, should go.
I had played the householder before — the person who answered the door. That was easy: you just asked questions that showed you didn’t know the Truth. Portraying the Witness was harder: you had to produce the right Scripture to answer any questions the householder might ask.
But we had written our parts on index cards and rehearsed repeatedly at home. I was well dressed and shining clean. I said my lines flawlessly and gave looks of concern at the right times. Finally, the householder agreed with everything I had said: her way of life was wicked, and the Bible clearly proved that Jehovah’s Witnesses were the only true Christians who would be saved at Armageddon. Her look was grateful. Then she smiled, becoming my mother again. Everyone clapped, and she glowed with pride. At last I could go out in service.
From the age of 5 until I was 14, I knocked on the doors of strangers each week with memorized lines that urged them to repent. I didn’t play with worldly children. I didn’t have birthday parties or Christmas mornings. What I did was pray a lot. I knew the books of the Bible in order, by heart, and could recite various verses. My loneliness was nourished by rich, beautiful fantasies of eternal life in a paradise of peace, justice, racial harmony and environmental purity, a recompense for the rigor and social isolation of our lives.
This bliss wasn’t a future we had to work for. Witnesses wouldn’t vote, didn't involve themselves in worldly matters, weren’t activists. Jehovah would do it all for us, destroying everyone who wasn’t a Witness and restoring the earth to harmony. All we had to do was obey and wait.
Shortly after our return to the States, my father was disfellowshipped for being an unrepentant smoker — smoking violated God’s temple, the body, much like fornication and drunkenness. Three years later, my parents’ marriage dissolved. My mother’s second husband had served at Bethel, the Watchtower’s headquarters in Brooklyn. Our doctrines, based on Paul’s letters in the New Testament, gave him complete control as the new head of the household; my mother’s role was to submit. My stepfather happened to be the kind of person who took advantage of this authority, physically abusing us and forcing us to shun our father completely.
After two years, I ran away to live with my father. My brother joined me a tumultuous six months later. We continued to attend the Kingdom Hall and preach door to door; the Witnesses had been our only community. Leaving was a gradual process that took months of questioning. I respected all faiths deeply, but at 15 I decided that I could no longer be part of a religion that condoned inequality.
After she finally divorced my stepfather, my mother moved out of state and married another Witness. Our occasional correspondence skates over the surface of our strained detente. I feel for her struggles. A smart, capable woman, she subjugated her will and judgment, as the Witnesses teach, to her husbands’. If she damaged my brother and me or failed to protect us, she did so out of fear and belief. She wanted to save us from certain destruction at Armageddon, from a corrupt and dirty world. She wanted nothing less for us than paradise.
I love my mother, but I also love my "worldly" life, the multitude of ideas I was once forbidden to entertain, the rich friendships and the joyous love of my family. By choosing to live in the world she scorned — to teach in a college, to spare the rod entirely, to believe in the goodness of all kinds of people — I have, in her eyes, turned my back not only on Jehovah but also on her.
It’s strange when Jehovah’s Witnesses come to my door now. I know discussion is futile; they have a carefully planned response for any objection. Finally, I say, "I’m an apostate," and their eyes widen at the word: someone who has willfully rejected Jehovah, far worse than a worldly person, who is simply ignorant of the Truth. A threat to the faith of others, an apostate deserves to be shunned, as we were forced to shun our disfellowshipped father. The Witnesses back away from my door.
16. The author’s mother can be described as the following EXCEPT ______.
A. a pious Christian
B. a loving mother
C. a submissive wife
D. a cruel mother
17. The author's attitude toward her mother can be described as the following EXCEPT ______.
A. understanding
B. sympathetic
C. hateful
D. pitiful
18. The Witnesses were forbidden to do the following EXCEPT _______.
A. to have "worldly" friends
B. to preach
C. to involve themselves in worldly matters
D. to do anything to change their life
19. The overall purpose of the passage is to _______.
A. tell a life story of a Witness
B. describe the Witnesses’ religious life
C. show the author’s turn of faith
D. tell a story of a Witness family
20. What do we know about the Witnesses according to the passage?
A. They lead a rigorous, alienated life.
B. They have equal rights.
C. Their children enjoy a colorful life.
D. They are involved passively in politics.
Text 5
Our culture has caused most Americans to assume not only that our language is universal but that the gestures we use are understood by everyone. We do not realize that waving good-bye is the way to summon a person from the Philippines to one’s side, or that in Italy and some Latin-American countries, curling the finger to oneself is a sign of farewell.
Those private citizens who sent packages to our troops occupying Germany after World War II and marked them GIFT to escape duty payments did not bother to find out that "Gift" means poison in German. Moreover, we like to think of ourselves as friendly, yet we prefer to be at least 3 feet or an arm’s length away from others. Latins and Middle Easterners like to come closer and touch, which makes Americans uncomfortable.
Our linguistic and cultural blindness and the casualness with which we take notice of the developed tastes, gestures, customs and languages of other countries, are losing us friends, business and respect in the world.
Even here in the United States, we make few concessions to the needs of foreign visitors. There are no information signs in four languages on our public buildings or monuments; we do not have multilingual guided tours. Very few restaurant menus have translations, and multilingual waiters, bank clerks and policemen are rare. Our transportation systems have maps in English only and often we ourselves have difficulty understanding them.
When we go abroad, we tend to cluster in hotels and restaurants where English is spoken. The attitudes and information we pick up are conditioned by those natives — usually the richer — who speak English. Our business dealings, as well as the nation’s diplomacy, are conducted through interpreters.
For many years, America and Americans could get by with cultural blindness and linguistic ignorance. After all, America was the most powerful country of the free world, the distributor of needed funds and goods.
But all that is past. American dollars no longer buy all good things, and we are slowly beginning to realize that our proper role in the world is changing. A 1979 Harris poll reported that 55 percent of Americans want this country to play a more significant role in world affairs; we want to have a hand in the important decisions of the next century, even though it may not always be the upper hand.
21. It can be inferred that Americans being approached too closely by Middle Easterners would most probably ________.
A. stand still
B. jump aside
C. step forward
D. draw back
22. The author gives many examples to criticize Americans for their ______.
A. cultural self-centeredness
B. casual manners
C. indifference towards foreign visitors
D. arrogance towards other cultures
23. In countries other than their own most Americans ______.
A. are isolated by the local people
B. are not well informed due to the language barrier
C. tend to get along well with the natives
D. need interpreters in hotels and restaurants
24. According to the author, Americans’ cultural blindness and linguistic ignorance will _____.
A. affect their image in the new era
B. cut themselves off from the outside world
C. limit their role in world affairs
D. weaken the position of the US dollar
25. The author’s intention in writing this article is to make Americans realize that ______.
A. it is dangerous to ignore their foreign friends.
B. it is important to maintain their leading role in world affairs
C. it is necessary to use several languages in public places
D. it is time to get acquainted with other cultures
Paper Two (90 minutes)
Part II Translation from Chinese into English (15%)
Directions: Translate the underlined part of the following text into English.
科学就是探求真理。在探求真理的过程中，人们对客观规律的认识要经过艰苦曲折的过程。常常有这样的情形：由于研究的角度不同，掌握资料的差异，认识方法的不同，就会出现“横看成岭侧成峰，远近高低各不同”的情况，以至引起学术上的争论。因此，有作为的科学工作者都把反对的意见看作对自己的莫大的帮助，把对自己的批评当作最珍贵的友谊。正如歌德所说，“我们赞同的东西使我们处之泰然，我们反对的东西才使我们的思想获得丰产。”这都是因为，赞同的意见未必正确，反对的意见未必错误。退一步说，即使错误的反对意见，对自己的科学研究也是很有好处的。
Part III Translation from English into Chinese (15%)
Directions: Translate the following text into Chinese.
In recent several months, the CCCPC and the State Council have focused on three things. First, a decision was made to deepen the reform and strengthen macro control of the national economy, aiming at solving the conspicuous contradictions and problems which have surfaced in economic development, mainly through economic means. Now the initial achievements have been made in implementing the decision. Second, systematic and comprehensive research has been done on how to accelerate the building of a socialist market economy, centring on reforms in banking, finance, taxation, and management of State assets, the investment system and foreign trade system. Important reforms in these sectors will be implemented in the near future. Third, the anti-corruption drive has been launched so as to foster an honest style of work.
Part IV Writing (20%)
Directions: In this part, you are asked to write a composition on the title "My Academic Ambitions" with at least 250 English words. Your composition should be based on the following outline given in Chinese. Put your composition on the ANSWER SHEET.
1. 为什么要攻读博士学位？
2. 你的学术抱负是什么？
3. 你将如何实现你的学术抱负？