西北师范大学考博英语真题,考博英语试题

西北师范大学2009年攻读博士学位研究生入学考试试题

考试科目：英语（卷）考试日期：5月2日上午

Part I Vocabulary (10%, 0.5 point for each)
Directions: There are 20 incomplete sentences in this part. For each sentence there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the ONE answer that best completes the sentence. Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.
1. I am grateful for your ______ invitation, and I'd like to accept your offer with pleasure.
A. delighted
B. innocent
C. gracious
D. prestigious

2. The language experts believe that the ______ age for learning a foreign language is 6 years old.
A. conceptual
B. considerate
C. optimal
D. component

3. The nuclear family ______ a self-contained, self-satisfying unit composed of father, mother, and children.
A. refers to
B. defines
C. describes
D. devotes to

4. I don't think it's sensible of you to ______ your greater knowledge in front of the chairwoman, for it may well offend her.
A. show up
B. show off
C. show out
D. show away

5. ______, he did become annoyed with her at times.
A. Much as he liked her
B. As he liked her much
C. Although much he liked her
D. Much although he liked her

6. When cooperating with the American specialists in the States, I ______ myself of the opportunity to improve my English.
A. availed
B. allowed
C. deprived
D. indulged

7. A ______ refers to an animal that is born from its mother's body, not from an egg, and drinks its mother's milk as a baby.
A. mammoth
B. penguin
C. mosquito
D. mammal

8. The municipal planning commission said that their financial outlook for the next year was optimistic. They expect increased tax ______.
A. privileges
B. efficiency
C. revenues
D. validity

9. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, ______ to discuss the implication of that conclusion.
A. receded
B. implied
C. complied
D. declined

10. The lady who has ______ for a night in the dead of the winter later turned out to be a distant relation of his.
A. put him up
B. put him out
C. put him on
D. put him in

11. Some polls show that roughly two-thirds of the general public believe that elderly Chinese are ______ by social isolation and loneliness.
A. reproached
B. favored
C. plagued
D. reprehended

12. Largely due to the university tradition and the current academic milieu, every college student here works ______.
A. industrially
B. industriously
C. consciously
D. purposefully

13. All the music instruments in the orchestra will be ______ before it starts.
A. civilized
B. chattered
C. chambered
D. chorded

14. ______ a declining birth rate, where will be an over-supply of 27,000 primary school places by 2010, ______ 35 schools idle.
A. Coupled with, equals to
B. Coupling with, equivalent to
C. Coupled with, equivalent to
D. Coupling with, equals to

15. When a person dies, his debts must be paid before his ______ can be distributed.
A. paradoxes
B. legacies
C. platitudes
D. analogies

16. The room was full of people and smoke. She started to feel ______ with the heat inside.
A. oppressed
B. congested
C. confronted
D. contending

17. ______ anyone should think it strange, let me assure you that it is quite true.
A. In order that
B. Lest
C. If
D. Providing

18. When in his rebellious years, that is when he was sixteen or eighteen, Frank Anderson ______ going around with a strange set of people and staying out very late.
A. took to
B. took up
C. took on
D. took in

19. One of the important properties of a scientific theory is its ability to ______ further research and further thinking about a particular topic.
A. invent
B. stimulate
C. renovate
D. advocate

20. Her sadness was obvious, but she believed that her feeling of depression was ______.
A. torrent
B. transient
C. tensile
D. textured

Part II Cloze (15%, 1 point for each)
Directions: Decide which of the following choices given below would best complete the passage if inserted in the corresponding blanks. Put the best choice for each blank on your answer sheet.
For many people today, reading is no longer relaxation. To keep up their work they must read letters, reports, trade publications, interoffice communications, not to mention newspapers and magazines: a never-ending flood of words. In __21__ a job or advancing in one, the ability to read and comprehend __22__ can mean the difference between success and failure. Yet the unfortunate fact is that most of us are poor readers. Most of us develop poor reading __23__ at an early age, and never get over them. The main deficiency __24__ in the actual stuff of language itself—words. Taken individually, words have __25__ meaning until they are strung together into phrases, sentences and paragraphs. __26__, however, the untrained reader does not read groups of words. He laboriously reads one word at a time, often regressing to reread words or passages. Regression, the tendency to look back over __27__ you have just read, is a common bad habit in reading. Another habit which __28__ down the speed of reading is vocalization—sounding each word either orally or mentally as one reads.
To overcome these bad habits, some reading clinics use a device called an __29__, which moves a bar (or curtain) down the page at a predetermined speed. The bar is set at a slightly faster rate __30__ the reader finds comfortable, in order to "stretch" him. The accelerator forces the reader to read fast, __31__ word-by-word reading, regression and subvocalization, practically impossible. At first __32__ is sacrificed for speed. But when you learn to read ideas and concepts, you will not only read faster, __33__ your comprehension will improve. Many people have found their reading skill drastically improved after some training. __34__ Charlie Au, a business manager, for instance, his reading rate was a reasonably good 172 words a minute before the training, now it is an excellent 1,378 words a minute. He is delighted that now he can __35__ a lot more reading material in a short period of time.

21.
A. applying
B. doing
C. offering
D. getting

22.
A. quickly
B. easily
C. slowly
D. decidedly

23.
A. forms
B. habits
C. situations
D. customs

24.
A. lies
B. lays
C. touches
D. involves

25.
A. some
B. a lot
C. little
D. any

26.
A. Fortunately
B. In fact
C. Logically
D. Unfortunately

27.
A. what
B. which
C. that
D. where

28.
A. speeds
B. cuts
C. slows
D. measures

29.
A. accelerator
B. reader
C. amplifier
D. observer

30.
A. then
B. as
C. so
D. than

31.
A. enabling
B. leading
C. making
D. letting

32.
A. meaning
B. comprehension
C. misunderstanding
D. regression

33.
A. but
B. also
C. or
D. and

34.
A. Look at
B. Take
C. Make
D. Consider

35.
A. go on
B. go over
C. go to
D. get through

Part III Reading Comprehension (20%, 1 point for each)
Directions: In this section there are four passages followed by questions or unfinished statements, each with four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that you think is the best answer. Mark your answers on your answer sheet.
Text A
After the violent earthquake that shook Los Angeles in 1994, earthquake scientists had good news to report: The damage and death toll could have been much worse.
More than 60 people died in this earthquake. By comparison, an earthquake of similar intensity that shook America in 1988 claimed 25,000 victims.
Injuries and deaths were relatively less in Los Angeles because the quake occurred at 4:31 a.m. on a holiday, when traffic was light on the city's highways. In addition, changes made to the construction codes in Los Angeles during the last 20 years have strengthened the city's buildings and highways, making them more resistant to quakes.
Despite the good news, civil engineers aren't resting on their successes. Pinned to their drawing boards are blueprints for improved quake-resistant buildings. The new designs should offer even greater security to cities where earthquakes often take place.
In the past, making structures quake-resistant meant firm yet flexible materials, such as steel and wood, that bend without breaking. Later, people tried to lift a building off its foundation, and insert rubber and steel between the building and its foundation to reduce the impact of ground vibrations. The most recent designs give buildings brains as well as concrete and steel supports. Called smart buildings, the structures respond like living organisms to an earthquake's vibrations. When the ground shakes and the building tips forward, the computer would force the building to shift in the opposite direction.
The new smart structures could be very expensive to build. However, they would save many lives and would be less likely to be damaged during earthquakes.
36. One reason why the loss of lives in the Los Angeles earthquake was comparatively low is that ____.
A. new computers had been installed in the buildings
B. it occurred in the residential areas rather than on the highways
C. large numbers of Los Angeles residents had gone for a holiday
D. improvements had been made in the construction of buildings and highways

37. The function of the computer mentioned in the passage is to ____.
A. counterbalance an earthquake's action on the building
B. predict the coming of an earthquake with accuracy
C. help strengthen the foundation of the building
D. measure the impact of an earthquake's vibrations

38. The smart buildings discussed in the passage ____.
A. would cause serious financial problems
B. would be worthwhile though costly
C. would increase the complexity of architectural design
D. can reduce the ground vibrations caused by earthquakes

39. It can be inferred from the passage that in minimizing the damage caused by earthquakes attention should be focused on ____.
A. the increasing use of rubber and steel in capital construction
B. the development of flexible building materials
C. the reduction of the impact of ground vibrations
D. early forecasts of earthquakes

40. The author's main purpose in writing the passage is to ____.
A. compare the consequences of the earthquakes that occurred in the U.S.
B. encourage civil engineers to make more extensive use of computers
C. outline the history of the development of quake-resistant building materials
D. report new developments in constructing quake-resistant buildings

Text B
The American stock market is the most closely watched of the markets around the world. The American stock market is usually reported to be up or down as compared to the previous day's business. The up or down position of the market is calculated by taking an average of the price changes of a few important stocks. In fact, three averages are calculated. These are called Dow Jones averages. There are averages of thirty Industrial stocks, twenty railroad stocks, and fifteen utility stocks. The averages of these groups of stocks show what is happening in the market generally. The American stock market reflects the economic outlook of most Americans. Many of the people who invest in the stock market are small investors. They do not have very much money invested in stocks. Usually, these people buy stock for two reasons. First, if they have extra money which they would like to invest, they are likely to put it into the stock market. Second, when the market is going up, an investor can make money by investing. When economic times are good in the United States, many people may buy small amounts of stock. All of this buying may cause the market to go up, reflecting good times and confidence in the American economy. When times are bad and people are short of money, they are likely to hold on to their money. They may also decide to sell stock they already own. Both actions give people more money for their own use. In either case, the market will generally go down as a result, reflecting the pessimistic economic outlook of investors.
Finally, the stock market is an index of reaction to developments in the news. In the stock exchange in New York, there are special news screens from the international news wire services. When they look at these screens, all the people at the stock exchange know about important news developments. International crisis of any kind will usually cause people to sell stock. Usually, the market will go down if many people want to sell their stock. Good business developments—important trade agreements, treaties between countries, and other developments which may make business prosper—are usually received favorably on the stock market. Good news of this kind encourages people to buy stock. Such developments will usually make the stock market grow.
The stock market activity is important to many people. Every hour of a business day, the radio news will include a report on the stock market. Usually, the Dow Jones averages are given, and the stock market is said to be up or down compared to the previous day. These developments are important to everyone from the individual investor to major American and international businesses. It is not surprising that the American stock market is a closely watched economic barometer.
41. Dow Jones averages cover ____.
A. 65 stocks
B. 15 stocks
C. 20 stocks
D. 30 stocks

42. The American stock market ____.
A. decides the Dow Jones averages
B. is the most influential one in the world
C. is the most stable one in the world
D. is controlled by the stock investors

43. When are the American investors most likely to sell their stocks? ____.
A. When the prices of stocks go up
B. When the foreign stock markets need their stocks
C. When they need cash rather than stocks
D. When the stocks are devalued

44. Which of the following statement is true? ____.
A. Americans like to put their surplus money into the stock market
B. Americans do not like to invest money on stocks
C. Americans like to buy foreign stocks
D. Americans buy and sell their stocks at high frequencies

45. From the passage we have got the impression that ____.
A. many Americans are involved in the stock business
B. foreign big businesses are very careful in the stock speculations
C. foreign big businesses control the ups and downs of the American stock market
D. comparing the American stock market to an economic barometer is not completely right

Text C
The sea lay like an unbroken mirror all around the pine-girt, lonely shores of Orr's Island. Tall, kingly spruces wore their regal crowns of cones high in air, sparkling with diamonds of clear exuded gum; vast old hemlocks of primeval growth stood darkling in their forest shadows, their branches hung with long hoary moss; while feathery larches, turned to brilliant gold by autumn frosts, lighted up the darker shadows of the evergreens. It was one of those hazy, calm, dissolving days of Indian summer, when everything is so quiet that the faintest kiss of the wave on the beach can be heard, and white clouds seem to faint into the blue sky, and soft swathing bands of violet vapor make all earth look dreamy, and give to the sharp, clear-cut outlines of the northern landscape all those mysteries of light and shade which impart such tenderness to Italian scenery.
The funeral was over,—the tread of many feet, bearing the heavy burden of two broken lives, had been to the lonely graveyard, and had come back again,—each footstep lighter and more unconstrained as each one went his way from the great old tragedy of Death to the common cheerful of Life.
The solemn black clock stood swaying with its eternal "tick-tock, tick-tock," in the kitchen of the brown house on Orr's Island. There was there that sense of a stillness that can be felt,—such as settles down on a dwelling when any of its inmates have passed through its doors for the last time, to go whence they shall not return. The best room was shut up and darkened, with only so much light as could fall through a little heart-shaped hole in the window-shutter,—for except on solemn visits, or prayer-meetings or weddings, or funerals, that room formed no part of the daily family scenery.
The kitchen was clean and ample, with a great open fireplace and wide stone hearth, and oven on one side, and rows of old-fashioned splint-bottomed chairs against the wall. A table scoured to snowy whiteness, and a little work-stand whereon lay the Bible, the Missionary Herald, and the Weekly Christian Mirror, before named, formed the principal furniture. One feature, however, must not be forgotten,—a great sea-chest, which had been the companion of Zephaniah through all the countries of the earth. Old, and battered, and unsightly it looked, yet report said that there was good store within of that which men for the most part respect more than anything else; and, indeed, it proved often when a deed of grace was to be done—when a woman was suddenly made a widow in a coast gale, or a fishing-smack was run down in the fogs off the banks, leaving in some neighboring cottage a family of orphans,—in all such cases, the opening of this sea-chest was an event of good omen to the bereaved; for Zephaniah had a large heart and a large hand, and was apt to take it out full of silver dollars when once it went in. So the ark of the covenant could not have been looked on with more reverence than the neighbors usually showed the Captain Pennel's sea-chest.
46. The author describes Orr's Island in a(n) ____ manner.
A. emotionally appealing, imaginative
B. rational, logically precise
C. factually detailed, objective
D. vague, uncertain

47. According to the passage, the "best room" ____.
A. has its many windows boarded up
B. has had the furniture removed
C. is used only on formal and ceremonious occasions
D. is the busiest room in the house

48. From the description of the kitchen we can infer that the house belongs to people who ____.
A. never have guests
B. like modern appliances
C. are probably religious
D. dislike housework

49. The passage implies that ____.
A. few people attended the funeral
B. fishing is a secure vocation
C. the island is densely populated
D. the house belonged to the deceased

50. From the description of the author we can tell that he ____.
A. was physically a very big man
B. preferred the lonely life of a sailor
C. always stayed at home
D. was frugal and saved a lot of money

Text D
Advances in technology have helped more of the world's population live better and longer—and that's part of our problem!
Better health standards have kept large numbers of people alive. The world's population is now almost four billion and expected to double in twenty-five years. Growing population and slowly rising living standards have increased our need for food at the rate of 30 million tons per year. As a result, the world's stockpile of food is declining, by about 10 million tons per year.
The Rise and Fall of the Green Revolution
From the early 1950s until 1972, world food production increased greatly. The Green Revolution extended scientific techniques to agriculture in the form of hybrid seed and poultry, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and complex irrigation systems. Strains of corn, sorghum, soybeans, wheat, and rice were developed to flourish under particular climate and soil conditions.
In the United States, corn production rose to 110 bushels per acre from only 26 bushels per acre in the early 1900s. Milk production rose to 10,000 pounds per year, compared with 600 in India. Chickens were bred to eat less, grow to maturity in a shorter time, and produce more eggs.
As a result of such scientific advances, our twelve Midwestern states alone now feed one-fourth of the world's people.
Crop disasters in 1972 brought an apparent end to the growth in production. Much of the extra yields had come from the use of chemical fertilizers, primarily petroleum-based and now in short supply. The drop in world supplies of petroleum-based fertilizers is expected to cause a drop in crop yields of ten tons for each one ton decline in fertilizers applied.
This presents a particular problem for underdeveloped nations that often lack the foreign exchange necessary for buying fertilizer. The problem is so severe that Philip Handler, president of the National Academy of Sciences, has predicted one million child deaths per month in these nations by the year 2025.
Proposals and Problems
What can be done? At present we are cultivating only 3.5 billion acres of arable land out of a worldwide total of 7.8 billion acres. New acreage could be brought under cultivation, although the most favorable lands are already in use. The costs in clearing, transportation, and irrigation of developing only 20 million acres of land are estimated at about $4 billion per year. Adding only 10 percent to the amount of cultivated acreage would cost at least $400 billion and could run as high as $1 trillion!
Land reform in some areas might be of help. New foods from the sea are also a possibility, but this is limited by pollution and by too intensive fishing in recent years. New varieties of seeds are still being developed, but the process is slow and costly. Fertilizer production must also be expanded, particularly in the less-developed countries.
Reduction of waste would also help relieve the food shortage. Decreased consumption in the developed nations could increase the quantities distributed to needy nations. For example, the United States uses the equivalent of seven pounds of grain in the production of one pound of meat. Reducing meat consumption would free this grain for shipment abroad. It is estimated that the average person in poor countries consumes four hundred pounds of grain per year, in contrast to the citizen of North America who consumes a ton (about one hundred pounds of which is in the form of beer or whiskey).
Lifeboat Ethics?
Policy on the problem of food production must eventually deal with the problem of population growth. Some analysts are beginning to recommend what is called lifeboat ethics: in the ocean of life we are all adrift. We would like to bring all others aboard, but that would sink our boat and we could all drown. We must not exceed the carrying capacity of our system. Only those nations should be helped that are able and willing to make the tremendous effort to help themselves.
The decision to help only selected nations is similar to the principle of triage in battlefield casualties. Victims are divided into three groups: those who will probably survive without aid, those who will probably survive with moderate aid, and those who will not survive without substantial aid. Limited resources are then concentrated on the second group. By implication, the third is left to perish, a morally difficult decision to make. We may not like it but, in the words of ecologist-biologist Garrett Hardin, it is like the law of gravity: "Once you know it's true, you don't sit down and cry about it. That's the way the world is."
In human terms, this may apply to the one-third of the world's population who live in the hungry nations—nations unable to feed themselves or produce goods for export which are sufficient to allow them to import food. These nations are centered in Asia and Africa below the Sahara: India, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and others. It is estimated that one-fourth of the population of these areas live on a diet of less than 1,000 calories per day.
We continue to hope for a more acceptable alternative. Nevertheless, policy to relieve the crisis in food production will require the best efforts of scientists, sociologists, economists, and humanitarians for many years to come.
51. Given the present growth rate of the world population and our ability to produce food, ____.
A. the United States will be able to feed half the world by 2025
B. hunger will be unknown in the future
C. the developed nations will change their eating habits
D. we will encounter very serious problems in the near future

52. The term "Green Revolution" refers to ____.
A. the political situation in Ireland
B. the increased use of scientific methods in agriculture
C. the upheavals in underdeveloped nations
D. the crop shortages experienced in 1972

53. The main difficulty in increasing the world's farmlands is ____.
A. its high cost
B. the scarcity of usable land
C. rising levels of pollution
D. the unwillingness of people to farm today

54. Which one of the following statements would the author likely agree with? ____.
A. in the future it will most likely be possible to provide everyone with adequate diet
B. if the weather could be artificially controlled, the food supply problem would no longer exist
C. in the future it is unlikely that every country will be able to produce or purchase enough food for survival
D. the principle of triage, while acceptable on the battlefield, is immoral when applied to economics

55. By the statement that North Americans consume about a ton of grain apiece per year the writer means that ____.
A. the Americans eat five times as much grain as those in poor countries
B. the Americans consume most of this in the form of alcoholic beverages
C. much of this is used in the production of meat
D. grain is the most important part of the diet for North Americans

Part VI Translation (20%, 10 for E-C, and 10 for C-E)
Section A: English to Chinese (10%)
Please translate the following underlined part into Chinese.
Confidence is a feeling—an inner fire and an outer radiance, a basic satisfaction with what one is plus a reaching out to become more. Confidence is not something a few people are born with and others are not, for it is an acquired characteristic.
Most people have more to work with than they realize. One noted physicist calls this unused excellencies and finding and releasing this potential in ourselves is one of the major challenges of modern life. The great danger is not that we shall overreach our capacities but that we shall undervalue and under-employ them, thus blighting our great possibilities.
The goal of life is not a problemless existence, which would be unbearably dull, but a way to handle problems creatively. That word "problem" may sound a little prickly, but it only means a question put forth for solution, and actually life consists of a series of problems-and-solutions, each different from the last.
Confidence is not always winning, not always victory. Indeed, it is that very quality in humanity which refuses to stay defeated. A kind of stubborn cheerfulness. Remember there are two things you can do with mistakes: you can run away and you can grow.
（注：划线部分为前三段，请译为汉语。）

Section B: Chinese to English (10%)
Please translate the following underlined part into English.
在找工作的过程中，有面试，就有曙光。面试的成功与否除了面试官如何看你的条件及个人素质外，主要取决于他们如何评价你在面试中总的表现。因此，有必要把它看作一场演出或比赛来看待，其目的是向面试官推销自己，让他们感到你是干这项工作的最佳人选。
大多数人在面试中处于被动地位，竭尽全力回答提出的任何问题。一种更好的办法是控制局面，给面试官提供你想给他们的信息，而不是他们想从你这儿发现的信息：使他们有信心，绝对相信你是能胜任这项工作的人选，让他们几乎没有理由相信你不能胜任。信心不仅仅来自你做出的回答，也产生于你的外表以及你表现出的热情、精力、自信、个人品质和雄心壮志。
大多数面试者没能得到工作的主要原因就是他们没能使面试官对他们产生信心。他们败下阵来并非是他们不能胜任这项工作，而是他们对自己能胜任工作的自信没能在面试中表现出来。他们的自我推销做得还不够。大多数人之所以这样是因为他们在面试时很紧张，如果每次面试后都没有得到工作，不少人觉得自己是失败者并变得更为焦虑。这是不实际的。大多数面试者都将被拒之门外。不要想自己是否将会得到这份工作。只需专心参加面试，并竭尽所能，工作自然就会有着落了。
（注：划线部分为后两段，请译为英语。）
Part V Writing (15%)
Opinions are divided among people as to whether candidates of a doctor's degree should study extensively or intensively. Some claim that the former leads to what is said in the saying that "Jack of all trades is good for nothing", while others maintain that the specialized study only produces scholars confined to expert knowledge. What's your view? Write an essay of about 300 words to state your opinion.
A title is necessary!