中山大学考博英语真题,考博英语试题

中山大学
2007年攻读博士学位研究生入学考试参考试题

考试科目：基础英语
专业：各专业通用
研究方向：各专业通用
考生注意：全部答案必须答在答题纸上，写在试卷上无效。
Part I Reading Comprehension (30 points)
Directions: There are 6 passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice and write the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.
Passage 1
It is natural for young people to be critical of their parents at times and to blame them for most of the misunderstandings between them. They have always complained, more or less justly, that their parents are out of touch with modern ways; that they are possessive and dominant; that they do not trust their children to deal with crises; that they talk too much about certain problems - and that they have no sense of humour, at least in parent-child relationships.
I think it is true that parents often underestimate their teenage children and also forget how they themselves felt when young. Young people often irritate their parents with their choices in clothes and hairstyles, in entertainers and music. This is not their motive. They feel cut off from the adult world into which they have not yet been accepted. So they create a culture and society of their own. Then, if it turns out that their music or entertainers or vocabulary or clothes or hairstyles irritate their parents, this gives them additional enjoyment. They feel they are superior, at least in a small way, and that they are leaders in style and taste.
Sometimes you are resistant, and proud because you do not want your parents to approve of what you do. If they approve, it looks as if you are betraying your own age group. But in that case, you are assuming that you are the underdog; you cannot win but at least you keep your honour. This is a passive way of looking at things. It is natural enough after long years of childhood, when you were completely under your parents' control. But it ignores the fact that you are now beginning to be responsible for yourself.
If you plan to control your life, cooperation can be part of that plan. You can charm others, especially your parents, into doing things the way you want. You can impress others with your sense of responsibility and initiative, so that they will give you the authority to do what you want to do.
1. The author is primarily addressing ______.
A. parents of teenagers
B. newspaper readers
C. those who give advice to teenagers
D. teenagers
2. The first paragraph is mainly about ______.
A. the teenagers' criticism of their parents
B. misunderstandings between teenagers and their parents
C. the dominance of the parents over their children
D. the teenagers' ability to deal with crises
3. Teenagers tend to have strange clothes and hairstyles mainly because they ______.
A. want to show their existence by creating a culture of their own
B. have a strong desire to be leaders in style and taste
C. have no other way to enjoy themselves better
D. want to irritate their parents
4. Teenagers do not want their parents to approve of whatever they do because they ______.
A. have already been accepted into the adult world
B. feel that they are superior in a small way to the adults
C. are not likely to win over the adults
D. have a desire to be independent
5. To improve parent-child relationships, teenagers are advised to be ______.
A. obedient
B. responsible
C. cooperative
D. independent
Passage 2
He was a funny looking man with a cheerful face, good natured and a great talker. He was described by his student, the great philosopher Plato, as "the best and most just and wisest man". Yet this same man was condemned to death for his beliefs. The man was the Greek philosopher, Socrates, and he was condemned for not believing in the recognized gods and for corrupting young people. The second charge stemmed from his association with numerous young men who came to Athens from all over the civilized world to study under him.
Socrates method of teaching was to ask questions and, by pretending not to know the answers, to press his students into thinking for themselves. His teachings had unsurpassed influence on all the great Greek and Roman schools of philosophy.
Yet, for all his fame and influence, Socrates himself never wrote a word. Socrates encouraged new ideas and free thinking in the young, and this was frightening to the conservative people. They wanted him silenced. Yet, many were probably surprised that he accepted death so readily.
Socrates had the right to ask for a lesser penalty, and he probably could have won over enough of the people who had previously condemned him. But Socrates, as a firm believer in law, reasoned that it was proper to submit to the death sentence. So, he calmly accepted his fate and drank a cup of poison hemlock in the presence of his grief-stricken friends and students.
6. In the first paragraph, the word "yet" is used to introduce ______.
A. contrast
B. a sequence
C. emphasis
D. an example
7. Socrates was condemned to death because he ______.
A. believed in law
B. was a philosopher
C. published radical philosophical articles
D. advocated original opinions
8. The word "unsurpassed" in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to ______.
A. untold
B. unequalled
C. unnoticed
D. unexpected
9. By mentioning that Socrates himself never wrote anything, the writer implies that ______.
A. it was surprising that Socrates was so famous
B. Socrates was not so learned as he is reputed to have been
C. Socrates used the work of his students in teaching
D. the authorities refused to publish Socrates' works
10. Socrates accepted the death penalty to show ______.
A. his belief in his students
B. his contempt for conservatives
C. his recognition of the legal system
D. that he was not afraid of death
Passage 3
To be "historically minded" is to see things in relation and in perspective, and to judge tolerantly. We must remember how differently men have thought and acted in different times. We must always keep an open mind, ready to receive and weigh new evidence. If we grasp this idea, we will never think that a historian is someone who can remember dates. That childish idea is like calling a man a statesman because he can remember the names of voters in his district. A waiter could remember more names and a telephone operator core numbers than the greatest historian.
The true historian is not content to take all his facts from other historians. Today he makes sure that his statements are based on sound "documents" or "sources" which go back to the time of the facts themselves.
But the historian needs always to be in his guard not to be misled by his sources. A document may not be a real one. Its author may be lying on purpose for some reasons. He may be so greatly influenced by national, religious, party or personal backgrounds as to be totally unfair to the other side. If honest, he may be misinformed as to the facts and mistaken in his inferences.
Anyone who reads the accounts published in the different countries concerning the causes and results of wars will realize that the historian needs caution and training in handling these sources. The trained historian asks first: "Did this writer mean to tell the truth?" and second; "Was he in a position or frame of mind to tell the truth even if he wants to?" Every statement must be patiently weighed and tested and combined with all other available information in order to get at the truth.
11. A "historically minded" researcher ______.
A. always keeps an open mind to history
B. looks at one historical event without relating it to another
C. sees things from a single point of view
D. refuses to accept new evidence
12. In Paragraph 1 the author means to illustrate that ______.
A. different men think and act differently
B. the study of history is not merely a matter of remembering dates
C. a statesman can remember the names of voters in his district
D. a waiter can remember more names than the great historians
13. The true historian should base his statements on ______.
A. findings of other historians
B. documents created at the present time
C. his own inferences
D. sound historical materials
14. Which of the following is the topic of Paragraph 3?
A. Some historical documents may not be real.
B. Some authors may not be honest.
C. Historians should be careful about their sources.
D. Historians may be influenced by their own backgrounds.
15. It is emphasized in the last paragraph that ______.
A. wars are accounted for differently in different countries
B. the historian needs caution and training in dealing with his sources
C. some writers may not be telling the truth
D. some writers may not be in a position or frame of mind to tell the truth
Passage 4
Friedrich Dobl, a Yugoslav working in Germany, was fed up with traffic jams. At long weekends and holiday times when he wanted to get him quickly he always found himself behind hundreds of other cars moving slowly along the notorious foreign workers' route through Germany and Austria.
How easy it all was for police and emergency services. A siren, a flashing light? And like magic everyone was out of the way. Going home from work one night he passed a garage. And there in front of him was the answer to his problem. An old ambulance was for sale. The red cross had been removed. But not the flashing light, and the siren. He tried the light. It flashed magnificently. He tried the siren. That too sounded impressive. He bought the ambulance and opened up for himself a dream world of motoring.
It began early in the morning, all his luggage in the back of the ambulance and motorway in Germany looking reasonably clear. Soon, as always, a long line of traffic appeared ahead. He switched on the flashing light and set off the siren. Cars swiftly slowed and pulled off the fast lane. Other cars stopped and drivers waved him ahead to an open road all his own. In record time he crossed the border into Austria. The big bluff was working. Police even waved him through the confusion caused by an accident.
But then the Yugoslav made his beg mistake. Until then he had only stopped for petrol. Now he was driving past a real accident, lights flashing, too late to realize that it was not another traffic jam as he assumed. They stopped him, and after hearing the story of his ride across two countries fined him 12.5 pounds.
16. At long weekends and holidays Friedrich Dobl used to ______.
A. drive home in Germany
B. meet other foreign workers
C. get caught in terrible traffic jams
D. get to the place where he worked by a special quick route
17. Why did he decide to buy the ambulance?
A. Because he had always wanted one.
B. Because he wanted to resell it at a higher price.
C. Because he liked the siren and the flashing light.
D. Because he knew that other traffic would get clear of the way for an ambulance.
18. The red cross had been removed ______.
A. but he soon put up a new one
B. but the siren and the flashing light still worked
C. so he asked the garage to paint another one on
D. because the vehicle did not look like an ambulance any more
19. When the police stopped him, ______.
A. he was driving dangerously
B. he had just driven straight past an accident
C. they found 12.5 pounds in his pocket
D. they told him they had followed him all the way
20. Which of the followings might be the best title for the passage?
A. How to Drive Quickly.
B. How to Avoid Accidents.
C. A Quick Way Home? By An Ambulance.
D. A Safe Way Home? Non-Stop.
Passage 5
The climate of earth has fluctuated quite a bit over the last 4.6 billion years of our planet's history and it can be expected that the climate will continue to change. One of the most intriguing questions in earth science is whether the periods of ice ages is over or are we living in an "interglacial," or period of time between ice ages?
The geologic time period we are now living in is known as the Holocene. This epoch began about 11,000 years ago which was the end of the last glacial period and the end of the Pleistocene epoch. The Pleistocene was an epoch of cool glacial and warmer interglacial periods which began about 1.8 million years ago.
Since the glacial period known as the "Wisconsin" in North America and "Wrm" in Europe when over 10 million square miles (about 27 million km2) of North America, Asia, and Europe were covered by ice, almost all of the ice sheets covering the land and glaciers in the mountains have retreated. Today about ten percent of the earth's surface is covered by ice; 96% of this ice is located in Antarctica and Greenland. Glacial ice is also present in such diverse places as Alaska, Canada, New Zealand, Asia, and California.
As only 11,000 years has passed since the last Ice Age, scientists can not be certain that we are indeed living in a post-glacial Holocene epoch instead of an interglacial period of the Pleistocene and thus due for another ice age in the geologic future. Some scientists believe that an increase in global temperature, as we are now experiencing, could be a sign of an impending ice age and could actually increase the amount of ice on the earth's surface.
The cold, dry air above the Arctic and Antarctica carries little moisture and drops little snow on the regions. An increase in global temperature could increase the amount of moisture in the air and increase the amount of snowfall. After years of more snowfall than melting, the polar regions could accumulate more ice.
An accumulation of ice would lead to a lowering of the level of the oceans and there would be further, unanticipated changes in the global climate system as well. Our short history on earth and our shorter record of the climate keeps us from fully understanding the implications of global warming. Without a doubt, an increase in the earth's temperature will have major consequences for all life on this planet.
21. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A. Has the Pleistocene Epoch Ended?
B. Another Ice Age in the Geologic Future Is Coming?
C. The Ice Ages: Are They Over?
D. Glacial Ice Will Be Present in Different Places?
22. Holocene ______.
A. ended about 11,000 years ago
B. is an existing geologic time period
C. is the end of the Pleistocene epoch
D. is an epoch of cool glacial and warmer interglacial periods
23. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. 96 percent of the earth's surface is covered by ice.
B. Over 10 million square miles of the earth's surface are covered by ice now.
C. Almost all of the ice sheets covering the land and glaciers in the mountains have been hidden.
D. Most of the ice on the earth's surface is located in Antarctic and Greenland for the time being.
24. What's the result of an accumulation of ice?
A. An accumulation of ice would make the global climate system altered.
B. An accumulation of ice would make snow more difficult to melt.
C. An accumulation of ice would increase the amount of moisture in the air.
D. An accumulation of ice would increase the global temperature.
25. What can be inferred from the passage?
A. The climate of earth has fluctuated quite a bit over the last 4.6 billion years.
B. An increase in the earth's temperature will have major consequences for all life on this planet.
C. The information we have got makes us unable to explain the global warming completely.
D. The Pleistocene began about 1.8 million years ago.
Passage 6
The Canadian economy contracted in April as it shrank by 0.2 percent from March. The April shrinkage was the first monthly decline since the events of Sept. 11, 2001, Statistics Canada reported Friday. During April, manufacturing output continued to fall, while the economic impact from the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome affected Canada's hospitality sector. The economic contraction - Canada's first in 18 months - was not unexpected as it matched the forecasts of most economists.
Consumer demand, a key factor to economic health, had been rolling along during the most recent economic expansion as Canadians snapped up houses and new vehicles. However that roll came to a stop in April.
"A number of special domestic and international factors stalled this demand, which resulted in lower output for residential construction and the retailing industry," Statistics Canada said. "There was a retrenchment in the travel-related industries, as both Canadians and international tourists stayed home."
Statistics Canada said it was impossible to isolate the total impact of SARS on the economy. "The war in Iraq, a weaker-than-expected US economy, a stronger Canadian dollar, fluctuating crude oil prices and other events had inter-related effects in some industries," Statistics Canada said. Factoring out the travel sector, economic activity declined by 0.1 percent, just a bit better than the whole picture for April.
Manufacturing output fell by 0.3 percent - the sector's second drop over the last three months. Durable goods manufacturers were responsible for much of the weakness.
26. What is the main idea of this passage?
A. An unexpected economic contraction took place in Canada.
B. The Canadian economy contracted in April.
C. Canada's manufacturing output continued to fall during April.
D. The reasons of Canada's economic contraction.
27. What was the Canadian economy like before this March in spite of the events of Sept.11,2001?
A. The Canadian economy was steady.
B. The Canadian economy was affected greatly.
C. The Canadian economy contracted by 0.2 percent.
D. The Canadian economy was weak.
28. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to this passage?
A. The residential construction in Canada develops unsteadily.
B. Most economists foresaw the Canadian economic contraction.
C. The Canadian economic contraction was beyond expectation.
D. The US economy is much stronger than the Canadian economy.
29. How many factors are mentioned in this passage influencing the Canadian economic contraction?
A. Six.
B. Seven.
C. Eight.
D. Nine.
30. The author's tone in this passage is ______.
A. sympathetic
B. subjective
C. objective
D. critical
II Blank Filling (10 points)
Direction: Fill in each of the following blanks with ONE suitable word and write your answers on your Answer Sheet.
Most parents, I suppose, have had the experience of reading a bedtime story to their children. And they must have __1__ how difficult it is to write a __2__ children's book. Either the author has aimed too __3__, so that the children can't follow what is in his (or more often, her) story, __4__ the story seems to be talking to the readers.
The best children's books are __5__ very difficult nor very simple, and satisfy both the __6__ who hears the story and the adult who __7__ it. Unfortunately, there are in fact __8__ books like this, __9__ the problem of finding the right bedtime story is not __10__ to solve.
This may be why many of books regarded __11__ work of children's literature were in fact written for __12__. "Alice's Adventure in Wonderland" is perhaps the __13__ obvious of this.
Children, left for themselves, often __14__ the worst possible interest in literature. Just leave a child in bookshop or __15__ and he will more willingly __16__ the books written in an imaginative way, or have a look at most children's comics, full of the stories and jokes which are the __17__ of teachers and right-thinking parents.
Perhaps we parents should stop trying to brainwash children to __18__ our taste in literature. After all children and adults are so __19__ that we parents should not expect that they will enjoy the __20__ books. So I suppose we'll just have to compromise over that bedtime story.
Part III Comprehensive Choosing (15 points)
Directions: In the following text, some sentences have been removed. For Questions (1)-(5), choose the most suitable one from the list A~G to fit into each of the numbered blanks. There are two extra choices, which do not fit in any of the blanks. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET
The United States is stuck in its drug abuse metaphors and in polarized arguments about them. Everyone has an opinion. One side insists that we must control supply, the other that we must reduce demand. People see addiction as either a disease or as a failure of will. None of this analysis moves us forward. The truth is that we will make progress in dealing with drug issues only when our national discourse and our strategies are as complex and comprehensive as the problem itself.
(1) ________________. The consequence is virtually uncontrollable compulsive drug longing, seeking, and use that interferes with, if not destroys, an individual's functioning in the family and in society. This medical condition demands formal treatment.
We now know in great detail the brain mechanisms through which drugs acutely modify mood, memory, perception, and emotional states. (2) ________________.
We do not yet know all the relevant mechanisms, but the evidence suggests that those long-lasting brain changes are responsible for the distortions of cognitive and emotional functioning that characterize addicts, particularly including the compulsion to use drugs that is the essence of addiction.
(3) ________________. This brain-based view of addiction has generated substantial controversy, particularly among people who seem able to think only in polarized ways.
(4) ________________. Modern science has taught that it is much too simplistic to set biology in opposition to behavior or to pit willpower against brain chemistry. Addiction involves inseparable biological and behavioral components. It is the quintessential bio-behavioral disorder.
(5) ________________. Research contradicts that position. However, the recognition that addiction is a brain disease does not mean that the addict is simply a hapless victim. Addiction begins with the voluntary behavior of using drugs, and addicts must participate in and take some significant responsibility for their recovery. Thus, having this brain disease does not absolve the addict of responsibility for his or her behavior, but it does explain why an addict cannot simply stop using drugs by sheer force of will alone. It also dictates a much more sophisticated approach to dealing with the array of problems surrounding drug abuse and addiction in our society.
A. Many people also erroneously still believe that drug addiction is simply a failure of will or of strength of character.
B. Using drugs repeatedly over time changes brain structures and function in fundamental and long-lasting ways that can persist long after the individual stops using them. Addiction comes about through an array of neuro-adaptive changes and the laying down and strengthening of new memory connections in various circuits in the brain.
C. Many people erroneously still believe that biological and behavioral explanations are alternative or competing ways to understand phenomena, when in fact they can be complemented and integrated.
D. The entire concept of addiction has suffered greatly from imprecision and misconception.
E. A core concept that has been evolving with scientific advances over the past decade is that drug addiction is a brain disease that develops over time as a result of the initially voluntary behavior of using drugs.
F. It is as if drugs have hijacked the brain's natural motivational control circuits, resulting in drug use becoming the sole, or at least the top, motivational priority for the individual. Thus, the majority of the biomedical community now considers addiction, in its essence, to be a brain disease: a condition caused by persistent changes in brain structure and function.
G. The distinction historically revolved around whether or not dramatic physical withdrawal symptoms occur when an individual stops taking a drug; what we in the field now call "physical dependence".
Part IV English-Chinese Translation (10 points)
Directions: Translate the following passage into Chinese. Write your translation on the Answer Sheet. Remember to write it clearly.
(1) Generally, war is repugnant, but peace is welcome. While peace is the ultimate goal of all of our undertaking in this world, war has been inevitable in the course of human civilization. Does man have an innate taste for war? Or is it just an acquired scheme learned from human society? (2) We only know that there hasn't been any period in the history during which the world was really at peace. Human beings pursue peace and prosperity through the establishment of families, communities, and nations. Why should we let all these be destroyed by wars?
To reduce the possibility of war to the lowest extent, I have two suggestions. (3) First of all, education should be consolidated to eliminate the brutality and beastliness in human nature. Knowledge derives from education and is a surer road to wisdom. Wisdom enables us to distinguish right from wrong. It also teaches us restraint and tolerance, two effective means of preventing wayward killing and destruction. Another cure is religion. (4) Most religions in the world advocate philanthropism(博爱) and forgiveness, which dissolve hatred and revenge. (5) Consequently, education and religion working side by side can transform a barbarian into a civilized person. With wisdom and love, the human race as a whole will detest war and embrace peace.
Part V Chinese-English Translation (10 points)
Directions: Translate the following passage into English. Write your translation on the Answer Sheet. Remember to write it clearly.
和平与发展是当今世界的两大主题。维护世界和平，加强友好合作，促进共同发展是各国人民的共同愿望。中国与西方国家虽然国情不同，但在一系列重大国际问题上具有广泛一致的利益。我对中国同西方各国关系的改善与发展感到高兴。中国政府和人民愿在平等互利的基础上，同包括西方国家在内的世界各国政府和人民一道，为和平与发展的崇高事业做出贡献。
Part VI: Writing (20 points)
Directions: Write a short composition of about 250 to 300 words on the topic given below. And write the composition on the ANSWER SHEET.
Topic
(1) What is the most important property in one's life? Responsibility, honesty or others?
(2) What is your opinion on the school uniform?