中央民族大学考博英语真题,考博英语试题

中央民族大学2007年
招收攻读博士学位研究生入学考试试题
科目：101 英语

（答案请写在答题纸上，写在试卷上无效）
Part I Listening Comprehension (15 points)
Directions: In this section, you will hear five short passages. At the end of each passage, a few questions will be asked about what was said. The passages and the questions will be read only once. Choose the best answer from the four choices marked A, B, C and D by marking the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.
Passage 1
Questions from 1~4 are based on the following passage.
1.
A. Television's effect on the movie industry.
B. The relationships between different media.
C. Radio news as a substitute for newspapers.
D. The role of the print media.
2.
A. Movie attendance increased due to advertising on television.
B. Old motion pictures were often broadcast on television.
C. Television had no effect on movie attendance.
D. Motion picture popularity declined.
3.
A. To illustrate another effect of television.
B. To demonstrate the importance of televised sports.
C. To explain why television replaced radio broadcasting.
D. To provide an example of something motion pictures can't present.
Passage 2
Questions from 4~6 are based on the following passage.
4.
A. The development of the modern skyscraper.
B. The skyscraper's effect on urban areas.
C. Problems with future skyscraper construction.
D. Safety regulations for skyscraper design.
5.
A. It created design problems for architects.
B. It was needed for transporting construction materials.
C. It enabled architects to design their office buildings.
D. It made skyscrapers more expensive to build.
6.
A. Projected changes in the building code.
B. Design features of modern skyscrapers.
C. Strategies for reducing traffic congestion.
D. Methods of estimating construction costs.
Passage 3
Questions from 7~9 are based on the following passage.
7.
A. It allowed workers to spend more time at home.
B. It gave workers opportunity for better training.
C. It allowed workers to live far from their jobs.
D. It eliminated many factory jobs.
8.
A. The lack of a qualified sales force.
B. A decline in the number of customers.
C. Difficulty in transporting merchandise.
D. Increased transportation costs.
9.
A. Job opportunities are better there.
B. Prices are lower in downtown stores.
C. Highway commuting has become unpleasant.
D. Property is more valuable in the cities.
Passage 4
Questions from 10~12 are based on the following passage.
10.
A. Education during the Civil War.
B. Post-Civil War developments in higher education.
C. Current trends in technological education.
D. Benefits for women in state universities.
11.
A. Two.
B. Three.
C. Ten.
D. One hundred.
12.
A. It was well established.
B. It was the same as that available to men.
C. It was only available in the northern states.
D. It was not highly developed.
Passage 5
Questions from 13~15 are based on the following passage.
13.
A. A recipe for a soft drink.
B. The medicinal effects of cola.
C. The history of cola.
D. Soft-drink production.
14.
A. He sold cola to doctors.
B. He was a drugstore clerk.
C. He developed the cola syrup.
D. He suffered from severe headaches.
15.
A. By mixing it with special oils.
B. By heating it.
C. By combining it with different flavors.
D. By adding soda water.
Part II Cloze Test (10 points)
Directions: For each numbered blank in the following passage, there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the best one and mark your answer on the ANSWER SHEET.
One of the most dangerous drugs for pregnant women to consume is alcohol. Because alcohol is __16__ quickly into the blood and passes quickly into the __17__ and membranes, the human fetus is particularly __18__ to its effect. In fact, the negative effects on a fetus are so __19__ that babies born after __20__ to alcohol are said to be suffering from fetal alcohol __21__.
__22__ a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, the alcohol is passed into the bloodstream almost __23__. Moreover, because the bloodstream of the fetus is __24__ that of the mother, the alcohol passes directly into the fetus as well. __25__, what's more, the __26__ of alcohol in the fetus is exactly the same as in the mother.
For the mother, this concentration is not a problem because her liver can __27__ one ounce of alcohol from her system per hour. However, the fetus' liver is not completely __28__. The rate at which it is able to __29__ the alcohol from the blood of the fetus is much slower. __30__, the alcohol will be returned to the mother's system by passing across the placenta, but this process is slow. By the time this __31__, major neurological damage may have already __32__. Research has shown that as little as one drink of alcohol can produce significant, __33__ damage to the fetus.
Babies born after exposure to alcohol generally __34__ facial distortion, inability to concentrate, and difficulty in remembering. Simply speaking, it is __35__ that pregnant women avoid alcohol.
16. A. conferred    B. delivered    C. endowed    D. injected
17. A. tissue    B. muscle    C. fabric    D. liver
18. A. accessible    B. resistant    C. vulnerable    D. immune
19. A. pronounced    B. accurate    C. severe    D. harsh
20. A. adaptation    B. infection    C. exposure    D. contraction
21. A. affection    B. impact    C. consequence    D. syndrome
22. A. After    B. As    C. When    D. Because
23. A. simultaneously    B. immediately    C. directly    D. frequently
24. A. tied to    B. similar to    C. fixed upon    D. linked to
25. A. Besides    B. And    C. Rather    D. Likewise
26. A. condensation    B. function    C. concentration    D. poison
27. A. distinguish    B. remove    C. abandon    D. discriminate
28. A. developed    B. cultivated    C. nurtured    D. grown
29. A. eliminate    B. prevent    C. distance    D. relieve
30. A. Eventually    B. Practically    C. Virtually    D. Gradually
31. A. takes effect    B. takes place    C. has impact    D. prevails over
32. A. experienced    B. arisen    C. emerged    D. occurred
33. A. irreversible    B. perceivable    C. incomprehensible    D. unimaginable
34. A. reveal    B. exhibit    C. involve    D. perform
35. A. desirous    B. hopeful    C. imperative    D. optimistic
Part III Reading Comprehension (45 points)
Directions: There are six passages in this part. Each passage is followed by 5 questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Decide on the best choice and then mark your answer on the Answer Sheet.
Passage 1
Most people can remember a phone number for up to thirty seconds. When this short amount of time elapses, however, the numbers are erased from the memory. How did the information get there in the first place? Information that makes its way to the short term memory (STM) does so via the sensory storage area. The brain has a filter which only allows stimuli that is of immediate interest to pass on to the STM, also known as the working memory.
There is much debate about the capacity and duration of the short term memory. The most accepted theory comes from George A. Miller, a cognitive psychologist who suggested that humans can remember approximately seven chunks of information. A chunk is defined as a meaningful unit of information, such as a word or name rather than just a letter or number. Modern theorists suggest that one can increase the capacity of the short term memory by chunking, or classifying similar information together. By organizing information, one can optimize the STM, and improve the chances of a memory being passed on to long term storage.
When making a conscious effort to memorize something, such as information for an exam, many people engage in "rote rehearsal". By repeating something over and over again, we are able to keep a memory alive. Unfortunately, this type of memory maintenance only succeeds if there are no interruptions. As soon as a person stops rehearsing the information, it has the tendency to disappear. When a pen and paper are not handy, you might attempt to remember a phone number by repeating it aloud. If the doorbell rings or the dog barks to come in before you get the opportunity to make your phone call, you will forget the number instantly. Therefore, rote rehearsal is not an efficient way to pass information from the short term to long term memory. A better way is to practice "elaborate rehearsal". This involves assigning semantic meaning to a piece of information so that it can be filed along with other pre-existing long term memories.
Encoding information semantically also makes it more retrievable. Retrieving information can be done by recognition or recall. Humans can recall memories that are stored in the long term memory and used often. However, if a memory seems to be forgotten, it may eventually be retrieved by prompting. The more cues a person is given (such as pictures), the more likely a memory can be retrieved. This is why multiple choice tests are often used for subjects that require a lot of memorization.
36. According to the passage, how do memories get transferred to the STM?
A. They revert from the long term memory.
B. They are filtered from the sensory storage area.
C. They get chunked when they enter the brain.
D. They enter via the nervous system.
37. How do theorists believe a person can remember more information in a short time?
A. By organizing it.
B. By repeating it.
C. By giving it a name.
D. By writing it down on paper.
38. Why does the author mention a dog's bark?
A. To exemplify poor memory.
B. To analyze a type of interruption.
C. To compare human memory with dogs' memory.
D. To illustrate the lack of efficiency of rote rehearsal.
39. Which of the following is true about retrieving information?
A. Elaborate rehearsal contributes to information retrieval.
B. The most efficient way of retrieving information is to assign semantic meaning to the information.
C. It's impossible to retrieve forgotten information without picture prompts.
D. Encoding information is more efficient than chunking it.
40. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. One's memory capacity can be enhanced by rote rehearsal.
B. Putting information to writing is suggested to improve memory.
C. Providing sufficient prompts helps information retrieval.
D. Multiple choice exams are the most difficult.
Passage 2
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 (语言上的) 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 (让步) 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 (多语言的) 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 stay 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.
41. 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
42. 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
43. 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
44. 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
45. 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
Passage 3
Most British newspapers are not necessarily careful about language, but they are careful about bad words anyway. The phrase 'family newspaper' is an inevitable part of our lives. Newspapers are not in the business of giving unjustified offence. It is a limitation of newspaper writing, and everybody in the business, whether writing or reading, understands and accepts. There are many other necessary limitations, and most of these concern time and space.
Newspapers have dominated sportswriting in Britain for years. But ten years ago, a new player entered the game. This was the phenomenon of men's magazines. GQ was the pioneer and it leads the way still, leaving the rest panting distantly in its wake.
Sport is, of course, a blindingly obvious subject for a men's magazine - but it could not be tackled in a blindingly obvious way. Certainly, one of the first things GQ was able to offer was a new way of writing about sport, but this was not so much a cunning plan as a necessity. The magazine was doomed, as it were, to offer a whole new range of freedoms to its sportswriters. Freedom of vocabulary was simply the most obvious one and, inevitably, it appealed to the schoolboy within us. But space and time were the others, and these possibilities meant that the craft of sportswriting had to be reinvented.
Unlike newspapers, a magazine can offer a decent length of time to research and to write. These are, you would think, luxuries - especially to those of us who are often required to read an 800-word match report over the telephone the instant the final whistle has gone. No one expects a masterpiece under such circumstances. But a long magazine deadline gives you the disconcerting and agoraphobic freedom to research, to write, to think.
GQ is not restricted by the same conventions of reader expectation as a newspaper. You need not worry about offending people or alienating them; the whole ethos of the magazine is that readers are there to be challenged. There will be readers who would find some of its pieces offensive or even impossible in a newspaper, or even in a different magazine. But the same readers will read the piece in GQ and find it enthralling.
That is because the magazine is always slightly uncomfortable to be with. It is not like a cozy member of the family, nor even like a friend. It is the strong, self-opinionated person that you can never quite make up your mind whether you like or not. You admire him, but you are slightly uneasy with him. The people around him might not altogether approve of everything he says; some might not care for him at all. But they feel compelled to listen. The self-confidence is too compelling. And just when you think he is beginning to become rather a bore, he surprises you with his genuine intelligence. He makes a broad joke, and then suddenly he is demanding you follow him in the turning of an intellectual somersault.
46. What does the writer say about newspapers in the first paragraph?
A. They tend not to include articles readers will find very challenging.
B. Articles in them do not reflect the way many people really speak.
C. They are more concerned with profit than with quality of writing.
D. They fail to realize what kind of writing would appeal to readers.
47. What does the writer imply in the second paragraph?
A. GQ magazine contains articles that are well worth reading.
B. Some of the more recent men's magazines are unlikely to survive.
C. The standard of sportswriting in newspapers has improved in recent times.
D. He is in a position to give an objective view of sportswriting in magazines.
48. Why were sportswriters for GQ given new freedoms?
A. The restrictions of newspaper writing do not apply to writing for GQ.
B. The magazine's initial plans for its sports articles proved unrealistic.
C. Notions about what made good sports journalism were changing.
D. The writers that it wanted to employ demanded greater freedom.
49. Why can't writers for GQ use the same methods as writers for newspapers?
A. Articles in GQ are not allowed to consist mainly of interviews.
B. They want to be considered better than writers for newspapers.
C. Writers for newspapers do not have so much space to fill.
D. They have been told to avoid the conventions of newspaper writing.
50. The writer likens GQ magazine to a person who ______.
A. says things you wish you had said yourself.
B. frequently changes his point of view.
C. forces you to pay attention to him.
D. wants to be considered entertaining.
Passage 4
"War is hell," said General Sherman, a commander in the American Civil War. This statement accurately describes the bloody campaign that he waged. Yet it was this war which marked the beginning of the modern laws of warfare. At the end of the Civil War in 1865 Henry Wirz, a former confederate officer, was tried and convicted for ill-treating and murdering prisoners.
There had been rules before, but this war saw the introduction of a formal and comprehensive code to guide troops in the field. These ideas have been progressively refined, first in the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, and then in the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and 1977.
Armies have often adopted procedures for the punishment of war criminals. Initially, they were designed to discipline soldiers and were mostly conducted by the authorities of the state to which the offenders belonged. However, towards the end of the Second World War, it became clear that the outrages committed by the Nazi regime in Germany - such as the Holocaust, in which an estimated six million Jews were killed - and by the Japanese were so great that those responsible should, in a sense, be tried by all mankind. Thus, in October 1943, two years before the end of the Second World War, representatives of the Allied nations, led by Britain and the United States, met in London and established a commission to investigate such outrages.
Three categories of offence were established, which loosely, came to be defined as "war crimes". They were: crimes against peace, such as the plotting of war against non-aggressive countries; violations of the customs and laws of war, such as the murder of prisoners, hostages and civilians; and crimes against humanity, which include extermination, enslavement and other inhumane acts committed against any civilian population.
With the Germans defeated, the Allied leaders decided to try Nazi leaders for a series of war crimes. The first session of the hearing took place in Berlin in October 1945. Charges were lodged against 24 former Nazi leaders. They were charged with crimes against peace, war crimes, genocide, and the wanton destruction of towns and cities.
In November 1945 the hearings were moved to the German town of Nuremberg. Three of the defendants were acquitted (无罪释放); twelve were sentenced to death; three were sentenced to life imprisonment; and four were sentenced to imprisonment for between ten and twenty years. The decision of the tribunal was unanimous (无异议的). A similar trial was also held of Japanese war leaders and 25 of them were convicted for crimes committed in Asia.
51. General Sherman ______.
A. established the modern laws of warfare
B. started the American Civil War
C. was sentenced for ill-treating prisoners
D. became a war criminal
52. In 1943, ______.
A. the Second World War ended
B. the Nazi regime killed six million Jews
C. the Allied nations decided to investigate the Nazi crimes
D. formal laws were introduced to discipline the soldiers
53. War crimes doesn't include ______.
A. neglecting cultural customs of the people
B. destroying peace in a country
C. killing hostages
D. making the civilians slaves
54. Which of the following statement is true according to the passage?
A. Modern laws of warfare started with the American Civil War.
B. Geneva Conventions were held to punish the German war criminals.
C. All Second World War criminals were punished by the mankind.
D. The laws of warfare were to protect civilians.
55. The best title for this passage is ______.
A. The Punishment of War Criminals
B. War Crimes Trials
C. War is Bloody
D. The Power of Justice
Passage 5
Conventional wisdom has it that concern for the environment is a luxury only the rich world can afford; that only people whose basic needs for food and shelter have been met can start worrying about the health of the planet. This survey will argue that developing countries, too, should be thinking about the environment. True, in the rich countries a strong environmental movement did not emerge until long after they had become industrialized, a stage that many developing countries have yet to reach. And true, many of the developed world's environmental concerns have little to do with immediate threats to its inhabitants' well-being. People worry about whether carbon-dioxide emissions might lead to a warmer climate next century, or whether genetically engineered crops might have unforeseen consequences for the ecosystem. That is why, when rich world environmentalists' campaign against pollution in poor countries, they are often accused of naivety. Such countries, the critics say, have more pressing concerns, such as getting their people out of poverty.
But the environmental problems that developing countries should worry about are different from those that western pundits have fashionable arguments over. They are not about potential problems in the next century, but about indisputable harm being caused today by, above all, contaminated water and polluted air. The survey will argue that, contrary to conventional wisdom, solving such problems need not hurt economic growth; indeed dealing with them now will generally be cheaper than leaving them to cause further harm.
In most developing countries pollution seems to be getting worse, not better. Most big cities in Latin America, for example, are suffering rising levels of air pollution. Populations in these countries are growing so fast that improvements in water supply have failed to keep up with the number of extra people. Worldwide, about a billion people still have no access to clean water, and water contaminated by sewage is estimated to kill some 2 million children every year. Throughout Latin America, Asia, Africa, forests are disappearing, causing not just long-term concern about climate change but also immediate economic damage. Forest fires in Indonesia in 1997 produced a huge blanket of smog that enveloped much of South-East Asia and kept the tourists away. It could happen again, and probably will.
Recent research suggests that pollution in developing countries is far more than a minor irritation: it imposes a heavy economic cost. A World Bank study put the cost of air and water pollution in China at $54 billion a year, equivalent to an astonishing 8% of the country's GDP. Another study estimated the health costs of air pollution in Jakarta and Bangkok in the early 1990s at around 10% of these cities' income. These are no more than educated guesses, but whichever way the sums are done, the cost is not negligible.
56. It is conventionally thought that ______.
A. only rich countries can afford to care about environmental problems.
B. developing countries should also be thinking about the environment.
C. environmental problems exist only in the rich world.
D. rich countries have not paid enough attention to the health of the planet.
57. Critics of campaign against pollution in poor countries hold that poor countries should care more about ______.
A. the potential greenhouse effect.
B. the bad consequences of genetically engineered crops.
C. how to get rid of poverty.
D. how to develop education.
58. It can be inferred from the text that ______.
A. developing countries should worry about the harm caused by polluted water and air
B. the developing countries' economy will develop more rapidly if they deal with environmental problems right now
C. the conventional wisdom has it that solving environmental problems may hurt economic growth
D. the conventional wisdom holds that dealing with environmental problems now will generally cost less.
59. Disappearing forests throughout Latin America, Asia and Africa can cause ______.
A. immediate climate change
B. immediate economic damage
C. more forests fires
D. higher death rate
60. The text is written for the purpose of ______.
A. analyzing the difference between the environmental problems in rich and poor countries.
B. arguing why developing countries should take immediate action to deal with their environmental problems.
C. demonstrating how serious damage pollution can cause to a country's economic development.
D. explaining why the developed world's environmental concerns have little to do with immediate threats.
Passage 6
Predicting the future is risky business for a scientist. It is safe to say, however, that the global AIDS epidemic will get much worse before it gets any better. Sadly, this modern plague will be with us for several generations, despite major scientific advances.
As of January 2000, the AIDS epidemic has claimed 15 million lives and left 40 million people living with a viral infection that slowly but relentlessly erodes the immune system. Accounting for more than 3 million deaths in the past year alone, the AIDS virus has become the deadliest microbe in the world, more lethal than even TB and malaria. There are 34 developing countries where the prevalence of this infection is 2% or greater. In Africa nearly a dozen countries have a rate higher than 10%, including four southern African nations in which a quarter of the people are infected. And the situation continues to worsen; more than 6 million new infections appeared in 1999. This is like condemning 16,000 people each day to a slow and miserable death.
Fortunately, the AIDS story has not been all gloom and doom. Less than two years after AIDS was recognized, the guilty agent - human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV - was identified. We now know more about HIV than about any other virus, and 14 AIDS drugs have been developed and licensed in the U.S. and Western Europe.
The epidemic continues to rage, however, in South America, Eastern Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. By the year 2025, AIDS will be by far the major killer of young Africans, decreasing life expectancy to as low as 40 years in some countries and single-handedly erasing the public health gains of the past 50 years.
It is Asia, with its huge population at risk, that will have the biggest impact on the global spread of AIDS. The magnitude of the pandemic could range from 100 million to 1 billion, depending largely on what happens in India and China. Four million people have already become HIV-positive in India, and infection is likely to reach several percent in a population of 1 billion. Half a million Chinese are now infected; the trajectory of China's epidemic, however, is less certain.
An explosive AIDS epidemic in the U.S. is unlikely. Instead, HIV infection will continue to fester in about 0.5% of the population. But the complexion of the epidemic will change. New HIV infections will occur predominately in the underclass, with rates 10 times as high in minority groups. Nevertheless, American patients will live quality lives for decades, thanks to advances in medical research. Dozens of powerful and well-tolerated AIDS drugs will be developed, as will novel means to restore the immune system.
A cure for AIDS by the year 2025 is not inconceivable. But constrained by economic reality, these therapeutic advances will have only limited benefit outside the U.S. and Western Europe.
61. Which is the best title for this text?
A. The Spread of HIV ... And Will We Ever Cure AIDS?
B. The Worse Situation of AIDS ... Will AIDS Ruin Human Being?
C. The Statistics of AIDS ... Will AIDS Spread around the World?
D. The Expansion of HIV ... Will Asia Become the Core of AIDS?
62. The phrase "gloom and doom" (L.1, Para. 3) probably means ______.
A. obscurity and sadness.
B. darkness and despair.
C. ruin and death.
D. disappointment and end.
63. Which of the following statistics is correct according to the text?
A. In India, there are 4,000,000 people who have been found HIV-positive, the infection rate almost reaching dozen percent in 1 million people.
B. In China, about 50,000 people are infected by HIV, with the channel of spreading unknown to the Chinese physicians and researchers in the world.
C. AIDS epidemic has caused 15,000,000 deaths in the whole world by January 2000 and more than 3,000,000 people died of it in the last year.
D. In the United States, HIV infection will go on to attack about 5% of the whole population and lead to an explosive AIDS epidemic in the country.
64. We can learn from the text that ______.
A. HIV was found more than two years earlier than AIDS was identified.
B. people know a little more about HIV than about most other viruses.
C. AIDS continues to rage more wildly in Africa than in Asia.
D. HIV infections will mostly happen in the poor and in minor groups.
65. According to the author, the cure for AIDS will probably mainly depends on ______.
A. international cooperation.
B. powerful drugs.
C. economic situation.
D. strong will.
Part IV Translation (15 points)
Directions: There are two passages in this part with 10 sentences underlined. You are required to translate those sentences from English into Chinese. Read the following short passages carefully and ONLY translate the 10 sentences that are underlined.
Passage One
(66) A new committee, set up by the editors of nine prominent medical journals, called last week for governments to tackle scientific misconduct and fraudulent publication in a more systematic way. "Cases are still exposed mostly by chance, and we worry about the scale of the problem," says Richard Smith, editor of the British Medical Journal and a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), which is one of several organizations in Europe currently looking into ways to beef up mechanisms to deal with publication misconduct. (67) COPE, whose members include the editors of the Lancet, Gut, and The Journal of the American Medical Association, invited more than 100 other editors here to discuss the scope of the problem and how to deal with evidence of misconduct in publications submitted to them for review. Editors related their experiences with incidents including the forging of signatures of patients and members of ethics committees that monitor research programs, plagiarism of research published in major Western journals for republication in Eastern European journals, publishing reports of patients who could be identified without their consent.
(68) These incidents were described without revealing names because of worries about libel laws and so that the careers of whistle blowers who brought cases to light would not be jeopardized. COPE, says Smith, will publish a list of reported cases of misconduct each year to sensitize editors to the problems.
COPE's efforts are being matched by other initiatives in Europe. (69) The Max Planck Society, Germany's premier research organization, is also carrying out a review of procedures it may adopt to help counter misconduct, and the results are also expected shortly. And at the most recent meeting of the European heads of research councils in Dublin last month, the problem of scientific misconduct was at the top of the agenda. The council heads are looking in particular at Danish efforts that have culminated in a new national committee on scientific dishonesty. (70) Unlike the U.S. Office of Research Integrity, which can investigate misconduct claims only when they involve government funds, the Danish committee can work across the scientific spectrum. COPE is also interested in the U.S. and Danish efforts. "Editors can only go so far," says Kennedy. "Eventually you need an independent body to investigate claims fairly."
Passage Two
(71) El Nino is an intermittent disruption of the climate system centered in the equatorial Pacific that has effects on short-term climate around the Pacific basin.
To understand El Nino, it is necessary to understand the normal trade-wind system in the tropical Pacific. (72) The sun heats the equatorial regions more strongly than the rest of the globe, so air tends to rise from the surface there, replaced by inflow from the subtropics. The Coriolis effect turns these inflows to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern, resulting in the great trade-wind belts that blow equatorward and westward over the width of the tropical Pacific. (73) In the ocean, these winds tend to push the surface water towards the west, so sea level at Indonesia is about 50 cm higher than at the South American coast, which gives an idea of the power and steadiness of the trade winds. As surface water is pushed west, cooler subsurface water is drawn up to the surface in the eastern equatorial Pacific. This upwelled water is nutrient rich, and supports a large population of marine and bird life, as well as an important fishery off the coast of Peru and Ecuador. (74) Then, during its journey west, surface water is heated by the sun to temperatures of about 29 C over a huge area west of the dateline, known as the west Pacific warm pool, where the ocean is roughly 6 C higher than when the water came to the surface in the east. This air is also very humid due to its long passage over the tropical ocean, and when it rises in the west heavy precipitin is produced over Indonesia and Southeast Asia.
The warm pool is one of the major driving forces of world climate. Its warmth strengthens the rising motion in the west and thereby reinforces the westward winds of the trade wind system. (75) The rising, moisture-laden air pumps heat and water vapor into the upper atmosphere, where it can be carried great distances. The huge source of heat helps set the path of the jet streams that control temperate-zone weather, much as a large rock in a stream determines the pattern of water flow, including wavery motions that extend well downstream of the rock. Therefore, when the warm pool changes shape or position, the effects ripple outward to affect much of the world's weather.
Part V Writing (15 points)
Directions: In this part, you are required to write a composition on the topic On Academic Dishonesty in no less than 250 words.