1986年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语试Section III: Reading Comprehension

Text 1

There are a great many careers in which the increasing emphasis is on specialization. You find these careers in engineering, in production, in statistical work, and in teaching. But there is an increasing demand for people who are able to take in great area at a glance, people who perhaps do not know too much about any one field. There is, in other words, a demand for people who are capable of seeing the forest rather than the trees, of making general judgments. We can call these people “generalists.” And these “generalists” are particularly needed for positions in administration, where it is their job to see that other people do the work, where they have to plan for other people, to organize other people’s work, to begin it and judge it.

The specialist understands one field; his concern is with technique and tools. He is a “trained” man; and his educational background is properly technical or professional. The generalist -- and especially the administrator -- deals with people; his concern is with leadership, with planning, and with direction giving. He is an “educated” man; and the humanities are his strongest foundation. Very rarely is a specialist capable of being an administrator. And very rarely is a good generalist also a good specialist in particular field. Any organization needs both kinds of people, though different organizations need them in different proportions. It is your task to find out, during your training period, into which of the two kinds of jobs you fit, and to plan your career accordingly.

Your first job may turn out to be the right job for you -- but this is pure accident. Certainly you should not change jobs constantly or people will become suspicious of your ability to hold any job. At the same time you must not look upon the first job as the final job; it is primarily a training job, an opportunity to understand yourself and your fitness for being an employee.

26.   There is an increasing demand for ________.

[A] all round people in their own fields

[B] people whose job is to organize other people’s work

[C] generalists whose educational background is either technical or professional

[D] specialists whose chief concern is to provide administrative guidance to others

27.   The specialist is ________.

[A] a man whose job is to train other people

[B] a man who has been trained in more than one fields

[C] a man who can see the forest rather than the trees

[D] a man whose concern is mainly with technical or professional matters

28.   The administrator is ________.

[A] a “trained” man who is more a specialist than a generalist

[B] a man who sees the trees as well as the forest

[C] a man who is very strong in the humanities[D] a man who is an “educated” specialist

29.   During your training period, it is important ________.

[A] to try to be a generalist[B] to choose a profitable job

[C] to find an organization which fits you

[D] to decide whether you are fit to be a specialist or a generalist

30.   A man’s first job ________.

[A] is never the right job for him[B] should not be regarded as his final job

[C] should not be changed or people will become suspicious of his ability to hold any job

[D] is primarily an opportunity to fit himself for his final job

Text 2

At the bottom of the world lies a mighty continent still wrapped in the Ice Age and, until recent times, unknown to man. It is a great land mass with mountain ranges whose extent and elevation are still uncertain. Much of the continent is a complete blank on our maps. Man has explored, on foot, less than one per cent of its area. Antarctica differs fundamentally from the Arctic regions. The Arctic is an ocean, covered with drifting packed ice and hemmed in by the land masses of Europe, Asia, and North America. The Antarctic is a continent almost as large as Europe and Australia combined, centered roughly on the South Pole and surrounded by the most unobstructed water areas of the world -- the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.

The continental ice sheet is more than two miles high in its centre, thus, the air over the Antarctic is far more refrigerated than it is over the Arctic regions. This cold air current from the land is so forceful that it makes the nearby seas the stormiest in the world and renders unlivable those regions whose counterparts at the opposite end of the globe are inhabited. Thus, more than a million persons live within 2,000 miles of the North Pole in an area that includes most of Alaska, Siberia, and Scandinavia -- a region rich in forest and mining industries. Apart from a handful of weather stations, within the same distance of the South Pole there is not a single tree, industry, or settlement.

31.   The best title for this selection would be ________.

[A] Iceland[B] Land of Opportunity[C] The Unknown Continent[D] Utopia at Last

32.   At the time this article was written, our knowledge of Antarctica was ________.

[A] very limited[B] vast[C] fairly rich[D] nonexistent

33.   Antarctica is bordered by the ________.

[A] Pacific Ocean[B] Indian Ocean[C] Atlantic Ocean[D] All three

34.   The Antarctic is made uninhabitable primarily by ________.

[A] cold air[B] calm seas[C] ice[D] lack of knowledge about the continent

35.   According to this article ________.

[A] 2,000 people live on the Antarctic Continent

[B] a million people live within 2,000 miles of the South Pole

[C] weather conditions within a 2,000 mile radius of the South Pole make settlements impractical

[D] only a handful of natives inhabit Antarctica

26.   [B]  27.   [D]  28.   [C]  29.   [D]  30.   [B]31.     [C]  32.   [A]  33.   [D]  34.   [A]  35.   [C]

1987年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语试题Section II: Reading Comprehension

Text 1

For centuries men dreamed of achieving vertical flight. In 400 A.D. Chinese children played with a fan-like toy that spun upwards and fell back to earth as rotation ceased. Leonardo da Vinci conceive the first mechanical apparatus, called a “Helix,” which could carry man straight up, but was only a design and was never tested.

The ancient-dream was finally realized in 1940 when a Russian engineer piloted a strange looking craft of steel tubing with a rotating fan on top. It rose awkwardly and vertically into the air from a standing start, hovered a few feet above the ground, went sideways and backwards, and then settled back to earth. The vehicle was called a helicopter.

Imaginations were fired. Men dreamed of going to work in their own personal helicopters. People anticipate that vertical flight transports would carry millions of passengers as do the airliners of today. Such fantastic expectations were not fulfilled.

The helicopter has now become an extremely useful machine. It excels in military missions, carrying troops, guns and strategic instruments where other aircraft cannot go. Corporations use them as airborne offices, many metropolitan areas use them in police work, construction and logging companies employ them in various advantageous ways, engineers use them for site selection and surveying, and oil companies use them as the best way to make offshore and remote work stations accessible to crews and supplies. Any urgent mission to a hard-to-get-to place is a likely task for a helicopter. Among their other multitude of used: deliver people across town, fly to and from airports, assist in rescue work, and aid in the search for missing or wanted persons.

11.   People expect that ________.

[A] the airliners of today would eventually be replaced by helicopters

[B] helicopters would someday be able to transport large number of people from place to place as airliners are now doing

[C] the imaginations fired by the Russian engineer’s invention would become a reality in the future

[D] their fantastic expectations about helicopters could be fulfilled by airliners of today

12.   Helicopters work with the aid of ________.

[A] a combination of rotating devices in front and on top[B] a rotating device topside

[C] one rotating fan in the center of the aircraft and others at each end

[D] a rotating fan underneath for lifting

13.   What is said about the development of the helicopter?

[A] Helicopters have only been worked on by man since 1940.

[B] Chinese children were the first to achieve flight in helicopters.

[C] Helicopters were considered more dangerous than the early airplanes.

[D] Some people thought they would become widely used by average individuals.

14.   How has the use of helicopters developed?

[A] They have been widely used for various purposes

.[B] They are taking the place of high-flying jets.

[C] They are used for rescue work.[D] They are now used exclusively for commercial projects.

15.   Under what conditions are helicopters found to be absolutely essential?

[A] For overseas passenger transportation.[B] For extremely high altitude flights.

[C] For high-speed transportation.

[D] For urgent mission to places inaccessible to other kinds of craft.

Text 2

In ancient Greece athletic festivals were very important and had strong religious associations. The Olympian athletic festival held every four years in honor of Zeus, king of the Olympian Gods, eventually lost its local character, became first a national event and then, after the rules against foreign competitors had been abolished, international. No one knows exactly how far back the Olympic Games go, but some official records date from 776 B.C. The games took place in August on the plain by Mount Olympus. Many thousands of spectators gathered from all parts of Greece, but no married woman was admitted even as a spectator. Slaves, women and dishonored persons were not allowed to compete. The exact sequence of events uncertain, but events included boy’s gymnastics, boxing, wrestling, horse racing and field events, though there were fewer sports involved than in the modern Olympic Games.

On the last day of the Games, all the winners were honored by having a ring of holy olive leaves placed on their heads. So great was the honor that the winner of the foot race gave his name to the year of his victory. Although Olympic winners received no prize money, they were, in fact, richly rewarded by their state authorities. How their results compared with modern standards, we unfortunately have no means of telling.

After an uninterrupted history of almost 1,200 years, the Games were suspended by the Romans in 394 A.D. They continued for such a long time because people believed in the philosophy behind the Olympics: the idea that a healthy body produced a healthy mind, and that the spirit of competition in sports and games was preferable to the competition that caused wars. It was over 1,500 years before another such international athletic gathering took place in Athens in 1896.

Nowadays, the Games are held in different countries in turn. The host country provides vast facilities, including a stadium, swimming pools and living accommodation, but competing courtiers pay their own athletes’ expenses.

The Olympics start with the arrival in the stadium of a torch, lighted on Mount Olympus by the sun’s rays. It is carried by a succession of runners to the stadium. The torch symbolized the continuation of the ancient Greek athletic ideals, and it burns throughout the Games until the closing ceremony. The well-known Olympic flag, however, is a modern conception: the five interlocking rings symbolize the uniting of all five continents participating in the Games.

16.   In ancient Greece, the Olympic Games ________.

[A] were merely national athletic festivals

[B] were in the nature of a national event with a strong religious colour

[C] had rules which put foreign participants in a disadvantageous position

[D] were primarily national events with few foreign participants

17.   In the early days of ancient Olympic Games ________.

[A] only male Greek athletes were allowed to participate in the games

[B] all Greeks, irrespective of sex, religion or social status, were allowed to take part

[C] all Greeks, with the exception of women, were allowed to compete in Games

[D] all male Greeks were qualified to compete in the Games

18.   The order of athletic events at the ancient Olympics ________.

[A] has not definitely been established

[B] varied according to the number of foreign competitors

[C] was decided by Zeus, in whose honor the Games were held

[D] was considered unimportant

19.   Modern athletes’ results cannot be compared with those of ancient runners because ________.

[A] the Greeks had no means of recording the results[B] they are much better

[C] details such as the time were not recorded in the past[D] they are much worse

20.   Nowadays, the athletes’ expenses are paid for ________.

[A] out of the prize money of the winners[B] out of the funds raised by the competing nations

[C] by the athletes themselves[D] by contributions

Text 3

In science the meaning of the word “explain” suffers with civilization’s every step in search of reality. Science cannot really explain electricity, magnetism, and gravitation; their effects can be measured and predicted, but of their nature no more is known to the modern scientist than to Thales who first looked into the nature of the electrification of amber, a hard yellowish-brown gum. Most contemporary physicists reject the notion that man can ever discover what these mysterious forces “really” are. “Electricity,” Bertrand Russell says, “is not a thing, like St. Paul’s Cathedral; it is a way in which things behave. When we have told how things behave when they are electrified, and under what circumstances they are electrified, we have told all there is to tell.” Until recently scientists would have disapproved of such an idea. Aristotle, for example, whose natural science dominated Western thought for two thousand years, believed that man could arrive at an understanding of reality by reasoning from self-evident principles. He felt, for example, that it is a self-evident principle that everything in the universe has its proper place, hence one can deduce that objects fall to the ground because that’s where they belong, and smoke goes up because that’s where it belongs. The goal of Aristotelian science was to explain why things happen. Modern science was born when Galileo began trying to explain how things happen and thus originated the method of controlled experiment which now forms the basis of scientific investigation.

21.   The aim of controlled scientific experiments is ________.

[A] to explain why things happenB] to explain how things happen

[C] to describe self-evident principles

[D] to supports most influenced scientific thought for two thousand years?

[A] the speculations of Thales[B] the forces of electricity, magnetism, and gravity

[C] Aristotle’s natural science[D] Galileo’s discoveries

23.   Bertrand Russell’s notion about electricity is ________.

[A] disapproved of by most modern scientists

[B] in agreement with Aristotle’s theory of self-evident principles

[C] in agreement with scientific investigation directed toward “how” things happen

[D] in agreement with scientific investigation directed toward “why” things happen

24.   The passage says that until recently scientists disagreed with the idea ________.

[A] that there are mysterious forces in the universe

[B] that man cannot discover what forces “really” are

[C] that there are self-evident principles

[D] that we can discover why things behave as they do

25.   Modern science came into being ________.

[A] when the method of controlled experiment was first introduced

[B] when Galileo succeeded in explaining how things happen

[C] when Aristotelian scientist tried to explain why things happen

[D] when scientists were able to acquire an understanding of reality of reasoning

11.   [B]  12.   [B]  13.   [D]  14.   [A]  15.   [D]16.     [B]  17.   [A]  18.   [A]  19.   [C]  20.   [B]

21.   [B]  22.   [C]  23.   [C]  24.   [B]  25.   [A]

1988年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语试题Section II: Reading Comprehension

Text 1

It doesn’t come as a surprise to you to realize that it makes no difference what you read or study if you can’t remember it. You just waste your valuable time. Maybe you have already discovered some clever ways to keep yourself from forgetting.

One dependable aid that does help you remember what you study is to have a specific purpose or reason for reading. You remember better what you read when you know why you’re reading.

Why does a clerk in a store go away and leave you when your reply to her offer to help is, “No, thank you. I’m just looking”? Both you and she know that if you aren’t sure what you want, you are not likely to find it. But suppose you say instead, “Yes, thank you. I want a pair of sun glasses.” She says, “Right this way, please.” And you and she are off -- both eager to look for exactly what you want.

It’s quite the same with your studying. If you chose a book at random, “just looking” for nothing in particular, you are likely to get just that -- nothing. But if you do know what you want, and if you have the right book, you are almost sure to get it. Your reasons will vary; they will include reading or studying “to find out more about”, “to understand the reasons for”, “to find out how”. A good student has a clear purpose or reason for what he is doing.

This is the way it works. Before you start to study, you say to yourself something like this, “I want to know why Stephen Vincent Benet happened to write about America. I’m reading this article to find out.” Or, “I’m going to skim this story to see what life was like in medieval England.” Because you know why you are reading or studying, you relate the information to your purpose and remember it better.

Reading is not one single activity. At least two important processes go on at the same time. As you read, you take in ideas rapidly and accurately. But at the same time you express your own ideas to yourself as you react to what you read. You have a kind of mental conversation with the author. If you expressed your ideas orally, they might sound like this: “Yes, I agree. That’s my opinion too.” or “Ummmm, I thought that record was broken much earlier. I’d better check those dates,” or “But there are some other facts to be considered!” You don’t just sit there taking in ideas -- you do something else, and that something else is very important.

This additional process of thinking about what you read includes evaluating it, relating it to what you already know, and using it for your own purposes. In other words, a good reader is a critical reader. One part of critical reading, as you have discovered, is distinguishing between facts and opinions. Facts can be checked by evidence. Opinions are one’s own personal reactions.

Another part of critical reading is judging sources. Still another part is drawing accurate inferences.

16.   If you cannot remember what you read or study, ________.

[A] it is no surprise  [B] it means you have not really learned anything

[C] it means you have not chosen the right book [D] you realize it is of no importance

17.   Before you start reading, it is important ________.

[A] to make sure why you are reading[B] to relate the information to your purpose

[C] to remember what you read[D] to choose an interesting book

18.   Reading activity involves ________.

[A] only two simultaneous processes

[B] primarily learning about ideas and evaluating them critically

[C] merely distinguishing between facts and opinions[D] mainly drawing accurate inferences

19.   A good reader is one who ________.

[A] relates what he reads to his own knowledge about the subject matter

[B] does lots of thinking in his reading[C] takes a critical attitude in his reading

[D] is able to check the facts presented against what he has already known

Text 2

If you live in a large city, you are quite familiar with some of the problems of noise, but because of some of its harmful effects, you may not be aware of the extent of its influence on human behavior. Although everyone more or less knows what noise is, i.e., it is sounds that one would rather not hear, it is perhaps best to define it more precisely for scientific purposes. One such definition is that noise is sounds that are unrelated to the task at hand. Thus stimuli that at one time might be considered relevant will at another time be considered noise, depending on what one is doing at the moment. In recent years there has been a great deal of interest in the effects of noise on human behavior, and concepts such as “noise pollution” have arisen, together with movements to reduce noise.

Exposure to loud noises can definitely produce a partial or complete loss of hearing, depending on the intensity, duration, and frequency composition of the noise. Many jobs present noise hazards, such as working in factories and around jet aircraft, driving farm tractors, and working (or sitting) in music halls where rock bands are playing. In general, continuous exposure to sounds of over 80 decibels (a measure of the loudness of sound) can be considered dangerous. Decibel values correspond to various sounds. Sounds above about 85 decibels may, if exposure is for a sufficient period of time, produce significant hearing loss. Actual loss will depend upon the particular frequencies to which one is exposed, and whether the sound is continuous or intermittent.

Noise can have unexpected harmful effects on performance of certain kinds of tasks, for instance, if one is performing a watch keeping task that requires vigilance, in which he is responsible for detecting weak signals of some kind (e.g., watching a radar screen for the appearance of aircraft).

Communicating with other people is unfavorably affected by noise. If you have ridden in the rear of a jet transport, you may have noticed that it was difficult to carry on a conversation at first, and that, eventually, you adjusted the loudness of your speech to compensate for the effect. The problem is noise.

20.   Noise differs from sound in that ________.

[A] it is sounds that interfere with the task being done[B] it is a special type of loud sound

[C] it is usually unavoidable in big cities[D] it can be defined more precisely than the latter

21.   One of the harmful effects of noise on human performance is that ________.

[A] it reduces one’s sensitivity[B] it renders the victim helpless

[C] it deprives one of the enjoyment of music[D] it drowns out conversations at worksites

22.   The purpose of this passage is ________.

[A] to define the effects of noise on human behavior

[B] to warn people of the danger of noise pollution

[C] to give advice as to how to prevent hearing loss

[D] to tell the difference between noise and sound

Text 3

The traditional belief that a woman’s place is in the home and that a woman ought not to go out to work can hardly be reasonably maintained in present conditions. It is said that it is a woman’s task to care for the children, but families today tend to be small and with a year or two between children. Thus a woman’s whole period of childbearing may occur within five years. Furthermore, with compulsory education from the age of five or six her role as chief educator of her children soon ceases. Thus, even if we agree that a woman should stay at home to look after her children before they are of school age, for many women, this period would extend only for about ten years.

It might be argued that the house-proud woman would still find plenty to do about the home. That may be so, but it is certainly no longer necessary for a woman to spend her whole life cooking, cleaning, mending and sewing. Washing machines take the drudgery out of laundry, the latest models being entirely automatic and able to wash and dry a large quantity of clothes in a few minutes. Refrigerators have made it possible to store food for long periods and many pre-cooked foods are obtainable in tins. Shopping, instead of being a daily task, can be completed in one day a week. The new man-made fibers are more hardwiring than natural fibers and greatly reduce mending, while good ready-made clothes are cheap and plentiful.

Apart from women’s own happiness, the needs of the community must be considered. Modern society cannot do well without the contribution that women can make in professions and other kinds of work. There is a serious shortage of nurses and teachers, to mention only two of the occupations followed by women. It is extremely wasteful to give years of training at public expense only to have the qualified teacher or nurse marry after a year or two and be lost forever to her profession. The training, it is true, will help her in duties as a mother, but if she continued to work, her service would be more widely useful. Many factories and shops, too, are largely staffed by women, many of them married. While here the question of training is not so important, industry and trade would be seriously short of staff if married women did not work.

23.   The author holds that ________.

[A] the right place for all women, married or otherwise, is the home, not elsewhere

[B] all married women should have some occupation outside the home

[C] a married woman should give first priority to her duties as a mother

[D] it is desirable for uneducated married women to stay at home and take care of the family

24.   A house-proud woman ________.

[A] would devote her whole life to her family

[B] would take her own happiness and that of her family as her chief concern

[C] would still need some special training at public expense to help her in her duties as a housewife

[D] would take full advantage of modern household appliances

25.   According to the author, modern society ________.

[A] can operate just as well even without women participation

[B] has been greatly hampered in its development by the shortage of women nurses and women teachers

[C] cannot operate properly without the contribution of women

[D] will be seriously affected by the continuing shortage of working women in heavy industries and international trade

16.   [B]  17.   [A]  18.   [B]  19.   [C]  20.   [A]21.     [A]  22.   [A]  23.   [B]  24.   [D]  25.   [C]

1989年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语试题Section II: Reading Comprehension

Text 1

A scientist once said: “I have concluded that the earth is being visited by intelligently controlled vehicles from outer space.”

If we take this as a reasonable explanation for UFOs (unidentified flying objects), questions immediately come up.

“Why don’t they get in touch with us, then? Why don’t they land right on the White House lawn and declare themselves?” people asked.

In reply, scientists say that, while this may be what we want, it may not necessarily be what they want.

“The most likely explanation, it seems to me,” said Dr. Mead, “is that they are simply watching what we are up to -- that responsible society outside our solar system is keeping an eye on us to see that we don’t set in motion a chain reaction that might have unexpected effects for outside our solar system.”

Opinions from other scientists might go like this: “Why should they want to get in touch with us? We may feel we’re more important than we really are! They may want to observe us only and not interfere with the development of our civilization. They may not care if we see them but they also may not care to say ‘hello’.”

Some scientists have also suggested that Earth is a kind of zoo or wildlife reserve. Just as we set aside wilderness areas and wildlife reserves to allow animals and growing things to develop naturally while we observe them, so perhaps Earth was set aside ages ago for the same purpose.

Are we being observed by intelligent beings from other civilizations in the universe? Are they watching our progress in space travel? Do we live in a gigantic “zoo” observed by our “keepers,” but having no communication with them?

Never before in our history have we had to confront ideas like these. The simple fact is that we, who have always regarded ourselves as supreme in the universe, may not be so. Now we have to recognize that, among the stars in the heavens, there may very well be worlds inhabited by beings who are to us as we are to ants.

16.   People who ask the question “Why don’t they get in touch with us... and declare themselves?” think that ________.

[A] there are no such things as UFOs[B] UFOs are visitors from solar system

[C] there’s no reason for UFOs sooner or later[D] we are bound to see UFOs sooner or later

17.   According to Dr. Mead, the attitude of beings from outer space toward us is one of ________.

[A] unfriendliness[B] suspicion[C] superiority[D] hostility

18.   The tone of the writer is that of ________.

[A] doubt[B] warning[C] indifference[D] criticism

Text 2

The use of the motor is becoming more and more widespread in the twentieth century; as an increasing number of countries develop both technically and economically, so a larger proportion of the world’s population is able to buy and use a car. Possessing a car gives a much greater degree of mobility, enabling the driver to move around freely. The owner of a car is no longer forced to rely on public transport and is, therefore, not compelled to work locally. He can choose from different jobs and probably changes his work more frequently as he is not restricted to a choice within a small radius. Travelling to work by car is also more comfortable than having to use public transport; the driver can adjust the heating in winter and the air conditioning in the summer to suit his own needs and preference. There is no irritation caused by waiting for trains, buses or underground trains, standing in long patient queues, or sitting on windy platforms, for as long as half an hour sometimes. With the building of good, fast motorways long distances can be covered rapidly and pleasantly. For the first time in this century also, many people are now able to enjoy their leisure time to the full by making trips to the country or seaside at the weekends, instead of being confined to their immediate neighbourhood. This feeling of independence, and the freedom to go where you please, is perhaps the greatest advantage of the car.

When considering the drawbacks, perhaps pollution is of prime importance. As more and more cars are produced and used, so the emission from their exhaust-pipes contains an ever larger volume of poisonous gas. Some of the contents of this gas, such as lead, not only pollute the atmosphere but cause actual harm to the health of people. Many of the minor illnesses of modern industrial society, headaches, tiredness, and stomach upsets are thought to arise from breathing polluted air; doctors’ surgeries are full of people suffering from illnesses caused by pollution. It is also becoming increasingly difficult to deal with the problem of traffic in towns; most of the important cities of the world suffer from traffic congestion. In fact any advantage gained in comfort is often cancelled out in city driving by the frustration caused by traffic jams: endless queues of cars crawling one after another through all the main streets. As an increasing number of traffic regulation schemes are devised, the poor bewildered driver finds himself diverted and forced into one-way systems which cause even greater delays than the traffic jams they are supposed to prevent. The mounting cost of petrol and the increased license fees and road tax all add to the driver’s worries. In fact, he must sometimes wonder if the motor car is such a blessing and not just a menace.

19.   More and more people can afford to buy and use cars because ________.

[A] an increasing number of cars are being produced

[B] the cost of cars is getting cheaper with the development of technology

[C] lots of countries have become more developed

[D] the use of cars has proved to be more economical

20.   The advantages of having a car are best experienced in the driver’s ________.

[A] freedom in choosing his job[B] comfort during the travels

[C] enjoyment of his leisure time[D] feeling of self-reliance

21.   What is considered by the writer as the greatest menace to the people caused by the widespread use of motor cars?

[A] air pollution[B] traffic jams[C] fatal diseases[D] high cost

Text 3

Manners nowadays in metropolitan cities like London are practically non-existent. It is nothing for a big, strong schoolboy to elbow an elderly woman aside in the dash for the last remaining seat on the tube or bus, much less stand up and offer his seat to her, as he ought. In fact, it is saddening to note that if a man does offer his seat to an older woman, it is nearly always a Continental man or one from the older generation.

This question of giving up seats in public transport is much argued about by young men, who say that, since women have claimed equality, they no longer deserve to be treated with courtesy and that those who go out to work should take their turn in the rat race like anyone else. Women have never claimed to be physically as strong as men. Even if it is not agreed, however, that young men should stand up for younger women, the fact remains that courtesy should be shown to the old, the sick and the burdened. Are we really so lost to all ideals of unselfishness that we can sit there indifferently reading the paper or a book, saying to ourselves “First come, first served,” while a grey-haired woman, a mother with a young child or a cripple stands? Yet this is all too often seen.

Conditions in travel are really very hard on everyone, we know, but hardship is surely no excuse. Sometimes one wonders what would have been the behaviour of these stout young men in a packed refugee train or a train on its way to a prison-camp during the War. Would they have considered it only right and their proper due to keep the best places for themselves then?

Older people, tired and irritable from a day’s work, are not angels, either -- far from it. Many a brisk argument or an insulting quarrel breaks out as the weary queues push and shove each other to get on buses and tubes. One cannot commend this, of course, but one does feel there is just a little more excuse.

If cities are to remain pleasant places to live in at all, however, it seems imperative, not only that communications in transport should be improved, but also that communication between human beings should be kept smooth and polite. All over cities, it seems that people are too tired and too rushed to be polite. Shop assistants won’t bother to assist, taxi drivers growl at each other as they dash dangerously round corners, bus conductor pull the bell before their desperate passengers have had time to get on or off the bus, and so on and so on. It seems to us that it is up to the young and strong to do their small part to stop such deterioration.

22.   From what you have read, would you expect manners to improve among people ________?

[A] who are physically weak or crippled[B] who once lived in a prison-camp during the War

[C] who live in big modern cities[D] who live only in metropolitan cities

23.   What is the writer’s opinion concerning courteous manners towards women?

[A] Now that women have claimed equality, they no longer need to be treated differently from men.

[B] It is generally considered old-fashioned for young men to give up their seats to young women.

[C] “Lady First” should be universally practiced.

[D] Special consideration ought to be shown them.

24.   According to the author communication between human beings would be smoother if ________.

[A] people were more considerate towards each other[B] people were not so tired and irritable

[C] women were treated with more courtesy[D] public transport could be improved

25.   What is the possible meaning of the word “deterioration” in the last paragraph?

[A] worsening of general situation[B] lowering of moral standards

[C] declining of physical constitution[D] spreading of evil conduct

16.   [A]  17.   [B]  18.   [D]  19.   [C]  20.   [D]21.     [A]  22.   [C]  23.   [D]  24.   [A]  25.   [B]

1990年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语试题Section II: Reading Comprehension

Text 1

In May l989, space shuttle “Atlantis” released in outer space the space probe “Megallan,” which is now on her 15-month and one-billion-kilometer flight to Venus. A new phase in space exploration has begun.

The planet Venus is only slightly smaller than Earth; it is the only other object in the solar system, in fact, that even comes close to earth’s size. Venus has a similar density, so it is probably made of approximately the same stuff, and it has an atmosphere, complete with clouds. It is also the closest planet to earth, and thus the most similar in distance from the sun. In short, Venus seems to justify its long-held nickname of “earth’s twin.”

The surface temperature of Venus reaches some 900F. Added to that is an atmospheric pressure about 90 times Earth’s: High overhead in the carbon dioxide (CO2) that passes for air is a layer of clouds, perhaps 10 to 20 miles thick, whose little drops consist mostly of sulfuric acid (H2SO4). Water is all but nonexistent.

Born with so many fundamental similarities to earth, how did Venus get to be so radically different: It is not just an academic matter. For all its extremes, Venus is a valuable laboratory for researchers studying the weather and climate of earth. It has no earth’s oceans, so the heat transport and other mechanisms are greatly simplified. In addition, the planet Venus takes 243 earth-days to turn once on its axis, so incoming heat from the sun is added and distributed at a more leisurely, observable pace.

16.   Venus is similar to Earth in ________.

[A] size and density[B] distance from the sun[C] having atmosphere[D] all of the above

17.   The greatest value in studying Venus should be to ________.

[A] allow us to visit there[B] understand Earth better

[C] find a new source of energy[D] promote a new space program

18.   The main idea of this passage is about ________.

[A] problems of space travel[B] scientific methods in space exploration

[C] the importance of Venus to Earth[D] conditions on Venus

Text 2

Tourists were surprised to see a woman driving a huge orange tractor down one of Rome’s main avenues. Italy’s political leaders and some of its male union chiefs are said to have been even more puzzled to see that the tractor was followed by about 200,000 women in a parading procession that took more than three hours to snake through central Rome.

Shouting slogans, waving flags and dancing to drumbeats, the women had come to the capital from all over Italy to demonstrate for “a job for each of us, a different type of job, and a society without violence.” So far, action to improve women’s opportunities in employment has been the province of collective industrial bargaining. “But there is a growing awareness that this is not enough,” says a researcher on female labor at the government-funded Institute for the Development of Professional Training for Workers.

Women, who constitute 52 per cent of Italy’s population, today represent only 35 per cent of Italy’s total workforce and 33 per cent of the total number of Italians with jobs. However, their presence in the workplace is growing. The employment of women is expanding considerably in services, next to the public administration and commerce as their principal workplace. Official statistics also show that women have also made significant strides in self-employment. More and more women are going into business for themselves. Many young women are turning to business because of the growing overall in employment. It is also a fact that today many prejudices have disappeared, so that banks and other financial institutes make judgments on purely business considerations without caring if it is a man or a woman.

Such changes are occurring in the professions too. The number of women doctors, dentists, lawyers, engineers and university professors increased two to three fold. Some of the changes are immediately visible. For example, women have appeared on the scene for the first time as state police, railway workers and street cleaner.

However, the present situation is far from satisfactory though some progress has been made. A breakthrough in equal opportunities for women is now demanded.

19.   The expression “snake through central Rome” probably means “to move ________

[A] quietly through central Rome.”[B] violently through central Rome.”

[C] in a long winding line through central Rome.”[D] at a leisurely pace through central Rome.”

20.   Which of the following statements is NOT true?

[A] There are more women than men in Italy.[B] In Italy, women are chiefly employed in services.

[C] In Italy, women are still at a disadvantage in employment.

[D] In Italy, about two-thirds of the jobs are held by men.

21.   About 200,000 women in Rome demonstrated for ________.

[A] more job opportunities[B] a greater variety of jobs

[C] “equal job, equal pay”[D] both A and B

22.   The best title for this passage would be ________.

[A] The Role of Women is Society[B] Women Demonstrate for Equality in Employment

[C] Women as Self-employed Professionals[D] Women and the Jobs Market

Text 3

The old idea that talented children “burn themselves out” in the early years, and, therefore, are subjected to failure and at worst, mental illness is unfounded. As a matter of fact, the outstanding thing that happens to bright kids is that they are very likely to grow into bright adults.

To find this out, l, 500 gifted persons were followed up to their thirty-fifth year with these results:

On adult intelligence tests, they scored as high as they had as children. They were, as a group, in good health, physically and mentally. 84 per cent of their group were married and seemed content with their lives.

About 70 per cent had graduated from college, though only 30 per cent had graduated with honors. A few had even dropped out, but nearly half of these had returned to graduate. Of the men, 80 per cent were in one of the professions or in business management or semiprofessional jobs. The women who had remained single had office, business, or professional occupations.

The group had published 90 books and 1,500 articles in scientific, scholarly, and literary magazines and had collected more than 100 patents.

In a material way they did not do badly either. Average income was considerably higher among the gifted people, especially the men, than for the country as a whole, despite their comparative youth.

In fact, far from being strange, most of the gifted were turning their early promise into practical reality.

23.   The old idea that talented children “burn themselves out” in the early years is ________.

[A] true in all senses[B] refuted by the author[C] medically proven[D] a belief of the author

24.   The survey of bright children was made to ________.

[A] find out what had happened to talented children when they became adults

[B] prove that talented children “burn themselves out” in the early years

[C] discover the percentage of those mentally ill among the gifted

[D] prove that talented children never burn themselves out

25.   Intelligence tests showed that ________.

[A] bright children were unlikely to be mentally healthy

[B] between childhood and adulthood there was a considerable loss of intelligence

[C] talented children were most likely to become gifted adults

[D] when talented children grew into adults, they made low scores

16.   [D]  17.   [B]  18.   [C]  19.   [C]  20.   [B]21.     [D]  22.   [B]  23.   [B]  24.   [A]  25.   [C]

1991年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语试题Section II: Reading Comprehension

Text l

A wise man once said that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. So, as a police officer, I have some urgent things to say to good people.

Day after day my men and I struggle to hold back a tidal wave of crime. Something has gone terribly wrong with our once-proud American way of life. It has happened in the area of values. A key ingredient is disappearing, and I think I know what it is: accountability.

Accountability isn’t hard to define. It means that every person is responsible for his or her actions and liable for their consequences.

Of the many values that hold civilization together -- honesty, kindness, and so on -- accountability may be the most important of all. Without it, there can be no respect, no trust, no law -- and, ultimately, no society.

My job as a police officer is to impose accountability on people who refuse, or have never learned, to impose it on themselves. But as every policeman knows, external controls on people’s behavior are far less effective than internal restraints such as guilt, shame and embarrassment.

Fortunately there are still communities -- smaller towns, usually -- where schools maintain discipline and where parents hold up standards that proclaim: “In this family certain things are not tolerated -- they simply are not done!”

Yet more and more, especially in our larger cities and suburbs, these inner restraints are loosening. Your typical robber has none. He considers your property his property; he takes what he wants, including your life if you enrage him.

The main cause of this break-down is a radical shift in attitudes. Thirty years ago, if a crime was committed, society was considered the victim. Now, in a shocking reversal, it’s the criminal who is considered victimized: by his underprivileged upbringing, by the school that didn’t teach him to read, by the church that failed to reach him with moral guidance, by the parents who didn’t provide a stable home.

I don’t believe it. Many others in equally disadvantaged circumstances choose not to engage in criminal activities. If we free the criminal, even partly, from accountability, we become a society of endless excuses where no one accepts responsibility for anything.

We in America desperately need more people who believe that the person who commits a crime is the one responsible for it.

31.   What the wise man said suggests that ________.

[A] it’s unnecessary for good people to do anything in face of evil

[B] it’s certain that evil will prevail if good men do nothing about it

[C] it’s only natural for virtue to defeat evil[D] it’s desirable for good men to keep away from evil

32.   According to the author, if a person is found guilty of a crime, ________.

[A] society is to be held responsible[B] modern civilization is responsible for it

[C] the criminal himself should bear the blame[D] the standards of living should be improved

33.   Compared with those in small towns, people in large cities have ________.

[A] less self-discipline[B] better sense of discipline

[C] more mutual respect[D] less effective government

34.   The writer is sorry to have noticed that ________.

[A] people in large cities tend to excuse criminals

[B] people in small towns still stick to old discipline and standards

[C] today’s society lacks sympathy for people in difficulty

[D] people in disadvantaged circumstances are engaged in criminal activities

35.   The key point of the passage is that ________.

[A] stricter discipline should be maintained in schools and families

[B] more good examples should be set for people to follow

[C] more restrictions should be imposed on people’s behavior

[D] more people should accept the value of accountability

Text 2

The period of adolescence, i.e., the period between childhood and adulthood, may be long or short, depending on social expectations and on society’s definition as to what constitutes maturity and adulthood. In primitive societies adolescence is frequently a relatively short period of time, while in industrial societies with patterns of prolonged education coupled with laws against child labor, the period of adolescence is much longer and may include most of the second decade of one’s life. Furthermore, the length of the adolescent period and the definition of adulthood status may change in a given society as social and economic conditions change. Examples of this type of change are the disappearance of the frontier in the latter part of the nineteenth century in the United States, and more universally, the industrialization of an agricultural society.

In modern society, ceremonies for adolescence have lost their formal recognition and symbolic significance and there no longer is agreement as to what constitutes initiation ceremonies. Social ones have been replaced by a sequence of steps that lead to increased recognition and social status. For example, grade school graduation, high school graduation and college graduation constitute such a sequence, and while each step implies certain behavioral changes and social recognition, the significance of each depends on the socio-economic status and the educational ambition of the individual. Ceremonies for adolescence have also been replaced by legal definitions of status roles, right, privileges and responsibilities. It is during the nine years from the twelfth birthday to the twenty-first that the protective and restrictive aspects of childhood and minor status are removed and adult privileges and responsibilities are granted. The twelve-year-old is no longer considered a child and has to pay full fare for train, airplane, theater and movie tickets. Basically, the individual at this age loses childhood privileges without gaining significant adult rights. At the age of sixteen the adolescent is granted certain adult rights which increases his social status by providing him with more freedom and choices. He now can obtain a driver’s license; he can leave public schools; and he can work without the restrictions of child labor laws. At the age of eighteen the law provides adult responsibilities as well as rights; the young man can now be a soldier, but he also can marry without parental permission. At the age of twenty-one the individual obtains his full legal rights as an adult. He now can vote, he can buy liquor, he can enter into financial contracts, and he is entitled to run for public office. No additional basic rights are acquired as a function of age after majority status has been attained. None of these legal provisions determine at what point adulthood has been reached but they do point to the prolonged period of adolescence.

36.   The period of adolescence is much longer in industrial societies because ________.

[A] the definition of maturity has changed

[B] the industrialized society is more developed

[C] more education is provided and laws against child labor are made

[D] ceremonies for adolescence have lost their formal recognition and symbolic significance

37.   Former social ceremonies that used to mark adolescence have given place to ________.

[A] graduations from schools and colleges[B] social recognition

[C] socio-economic status[D] certain behavioral changes

38.   No one can expect to fully enjoy the adulthood privileges until he is ________.

[A] eleven years old[B] sixteen years old

[C] twenty-one years old[D] between twelve and twenty-one years old

39.   Starting from 22, ________.

[A] one will obtain more basic rights

[B] the older one becomes, the more basic rights he will have

[C] one won’t get more basic rights than when he is 21

[D] one will enjoy more rights granted by society

40.   According to the passage, it is true that ________.

[A] in the late 19th century in the United States the dividing line between adolescence and adulthood no longer existed

[B] no one can marry without the permission of his parents until the age of twenty-one

[C] one is considered to have reached adulthood when he has a driver’s license

[D] one is not free from the restrictions of child labor laws until he can join the army

Text 3

Most growing plants contain much more water than all other materials combined. C. R. Darnes has suggested that it is as proper to term the plant a water structure as to call a house composed mainly of brick -- a brick building. Certain it is that all essential processes of plant growth and development occur in water. The mineral elements from the soil that are usable by the plant must be dissolved in the soil solution before they can be taken into the root. They are carried to all parts of the growing plant and are built into essential plant materials while in a dissolved state. The carbon dioxide from the air may enter the leaf as a gas but is dissolved in water in the leaf before it is combined with a part of the water to form simple sugars -- the base material from which the plant body is mainly built. Actively growing plant parts are generally 75 to 90 percent water. Structural parts of plants, such as woody stems no longer actively growing, may have much less water than growing tissues.

The actual amount of water in the plant at any one time, however, is only a very small part of what passes through it during its development. The processes of photosynthesis, by which carbon dioxide and water are combined -- in the presence of chlorophyll (叶绿素) and with energy derived from light -- to form sugars, require that carbon dioxide from the air enter the plant. This occurs mainly in the leaves. The leaf surface is not solid but contains great numbers of minute openings, through which the carbon dioxide enters. The same structure that permits the one gas to enter the leaf, however, permits another gas -- water vapor -- to be lost from it. Since carbon dioxide is present in the air only in trace quantities (3 to 4 parts in 10,000 parts of air) and water vapor is near saturation in the air spaces within the leaf (at 80F, saturated air would contain about 186 parts of water vapor in 10,000 parts of air), the total amount of water vapor lost is many times the carbon dioxide intake. Actually, because of wind and other factors, the loss of water in proportion to carbon dioxide intake may be even greater than the relative concentrations of the two gases. Also, not all of the carbon dioxide that enters the leaf is synthesized into carbohydrates (碳水化合物).

41.   A growing plant needs water for all of the following except ________.

[A] forming sugars[B] sustaining woody stems

[C] keeping green[D] producing carbon dioxide

42.   The essential function of photosynthesis in terms of plant needs is ________.

[A] to form sugars[B] to derive energy from light

[C] to preserve water[D] to combine carbon dioxide with water

43.   The second paragraph uses facts to develop the essential idea that ________.

[A] a plant efficiently utilizes most of the water it absorbs

[B] carbon dioxide is the essential substance needed for plant development

[C] a plant needs more water than is found in its composition

[D] the stronger the wind, the more the water vapor loss

44.   According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

[A] The mineral elements will not be absorbed by the plant unless they are dissolved in its root.

[B] The woody stems contain more water than the leaves.

[C] Air existing around the leaf is found to be saturated.

[D] Only part of the carbon dioxide in the plants is synthesized.

45.   This passage is mainly about ________.

[A] the functions of carbon dioxide and water

[B] the role of water in a growing plant

[C] the process of simple sugar formation

[D] the synthesis of water with carbon dioxide

31.   [B]  32.   [C]  33.   [A]  34.   [A]  35.   [D]36.     [C]  37.   [A]  38.   [C]  39.   [C]  40.   [A]

41.   [D]  42.   [A]  43.   [C]  44.   [D]  45.   [B]

1992年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语试题Section II: Reading Comprehension

Text 1

It is all very well to blame traffic jams, the cost of petrol and the quick pace of modern life, but manners on the roads are becoming horrible. Everybody knows that the nicest men become monsters behind the wheel. It is very well, again, to have a tiger in the tank, but to have one in the driver’s seat is another matter altogether. You might tolerate the odd road-hog, the rude and inconsiderate driver, but nowadays the well-mannered motorist is the exception to the rule. Perhaps the situation calls for a ‘Be Kind to Other Drivers’ campaign, otherwise it may get completely out of hand.

Road politeness is not only good manners, but good sense too. It takes the most cool-headed and good-tempered of drivers to resist the temptation to revenge when subjected to uncivilized behavior. On the other hand, a little politeness goes a long way towards relieving the tensions of motoring. A friendly nod or a wave of acknowledgement in response to an act of politeness helps to create an atmosphere of goodwill and tolerance so necessary in modern traffic conditions. But such acknowledgements of politeness are all too rare today. Many drivers nowadays don’t even seem able to recognize politeness when they see it.

However, misplaced politeness can also be dangerous. Typical examples are the driver who brakes violently to allow a car to emerge from a side street at some hazard to following traffic, when a few seconds later the road would be clear anyway; or the man who waves a child across a zebra crossing into the path of oncoming vehicles that may be unable to stop in time. The same goes for encouraging old ladies to cross the road wherever and whenever they care to. It always amazes me that the highways are not covered with the dead bodies of these grannies.

A veteran driver, whose manners are faultless, told me it would help if motorists learnt to filter correctly into traffic streams one at a time without causing the total blockages that give rise to bad temper. Unfortunately, modern motorists can’t even learn to drive, let alone master the subtler aspects of boatmanship. Years ago the experts warned us that the car-ownership explosion would demand a lot more give-and-take from all road users. It is high time for all of us to take this message to heart.

31.   According to this passage, troubles on the road are primarily caused by ________.

[A] people’s attitude towards the road-hog[B] the rhythm of modern life

[C] the behavior of the driver[D] traffic conditions

32.   The sentence “You might tolerate the odd road-hog... the rule.” (Para. 1) implies that ________.

[A] our society is unjust towards well-mannered motorists

[B] rude drivers can be met only occasionally

[C] the well-mannered motorist cannot tolerate the road-hog

[D] nowadays impolite drivers constitute the majority of motorists

33.   By “good sense,” the writer means ________.

[A] the driver’s ability to understand and react reasonably

[B] the driver’s prompt response to difficult and severe conditions

[C] the driver’s tolerance of rude or even savage behavior

[D] the driver’s acknowledgement of politeness and regulations

34.   Experts have long pointed out that in the face of car-ownership explosion, ________.

[A] road users should make more sacrifice

[B] drivers should be ready to yield to each other

[C] drivers should have more communication among themselves

[D] drivers will suffer great loss if they pay no respect to others

35.   In the writer’s opinion, ________.

[A] strict traffic regulations are badly needed[B] drivers should apply road politeness properly

[C] rude drivers should be punished[D] drivers should avoid traffic jams

Text 2

In the atmosphere, carbon dioxide acts rather like a one-way mirror -- the glass in the roof of a greenhouse which allows the sun’s rays to enter but prevents the heat from escaping.

According to a weather expert’s prediction, the atmosphere will be 3℃ warmer in the year 2050 than it is today, if man continues to burn fuels at the present rate. If this warming up took place, the ice caps in the poles would begin to melt, thus raising sea level several metres and severely flooding coastal cities. Also, the increase in atmospheric temperature would lead to great changes in the climate of the northern hemisphere, possibly resulting in an alteration of earth’s chief food-growing zones.

In the past, concern about a man-made warming of the earth has concentrated on the Arctic because the Antarctic is much colder and has a much thicker ice sheet. But the weather experts are now paying more attention to West Antarctic, which may be affected by only a few degrees of warming, in other words, by a warming on the scale that will possibly take place in the next fifty years from the burning of fuels.

Satellite pictures show that large areas of Antarctic ice are already disappearing. The evidence available suggests that a warming has taken place. This fits the theory that carbon dioxide warms the earth.

However, most of the fuel is burnt in the northern hemisphere, where temperatures seem to be falling. Scientists conclude, therefore, that up to now natural influences on the weather have exceeded those caused by man. The question is: Which natural cause has most effect on the weather?

One possibility is the variable behavior of the sun. Astronomers at one research station have studied the hot spots and “cold” spots (that is, the relatively less hot spots) on the sun. As the sun rotates, every 27.5 days, it presents hotter or “colder” faces to the earth, and different aspects to different parts of the earth. This seems to have a considerable effect on the distribution of the earth’s atmospheric pressure, and consequently on wind circulation. The sun is also variable over a long term: its heat output goes up and down in cycles, the latest trend being downward.

Scientists are now finding mutual relations between models of solar-weather interactions and the actual climate over many thousands of years, including the last Ice Age. The problem is that the models are predicting that the world should be entering a new Ice Age and it is not. One way of solving this theoretical difficulty is to assume a delay of thousands of years while the solar effects overcome the inertia (惯性) of the earth’s climate. If this is right, the warming effect of carbon dioxide might thus be serving as a useful counter-balance to the sun’s diminishing heat.

36.   It can be concluded that a concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would ________.

[A] prevent the sun’s rays from leeching the earth’s surface[B] mean a warming up in the Arctic

[C] account for great changes in the climate in the northern hemisphere

[D] raise the temperature of the earth’s surface

37.   The article was written to explain ________.

[A] the greenhouse effect[B] the solar effects on the earth

[C] the models of solar-weather interactions[D] the causes affecting weather

38.   Although the fuel consumption is greater in the northern hemisphere, temperatures there seem to be falling. This is ________.

[A] mainly because the levels of carbon dioxide are rising

[B] possibly because the ice caps in the poles are melting

[C] exclusively due to the effect of the inertia of the earth’s climate

[D] partly due to variations in the output of solar energy

39.   On the basis of their models, scientists are of the opinion that ________.

[A] the climate of the world should be becoming cooler

[B] it will take thousands of years for the inertia of the earth’s climate to take effect

[C] the man-made warming effect helps to increase the solar effects

[D] the new Ice Age will be delayed by the greenhouse effect

40.   If the assumption about the delay of a new Ice Age is correct, ________.

[A] the best way to overcome the cooling effect would be to burn more fuels

[B] ice would soon cover the northern hemisphere

[C] the increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could warm up the earth even more quickly

[D] the greenhouse effect could work to the advantage of the earth

Text 3

Some people believe that international sport creates goodwill between the nations and that if countries play games together they will learn to live together. Others say that the opposite is true: that international contests encourage false national pride and lead to misunderstanding and hatred. There is probably some truth in both arguments, but in recent years the Olympic Games have done little to support the view that sports encourages international brotherhood. Not only was there the tragic incident involving the murder of athletes, but the Games were also ruined by lesser incidents caused principally by minor national contests.

One country received its second-place medals with visible indignation after the hockey (曲棍球) final. There had been noisy scenes at the end of the hockey match, the losers objecting to the final decisions. They were convinced that one of their goals should not have been disallowed and that their opponents’ victory was unfair. Their manager was in a rage when he said: “This wasn’t hockey. Hockey and the International Hockey Federation are finished.” The president of the Federation said later that such behavior could result in the suspension of the team for at least three years.

The American basketball team announced that they would not yield first place to Russia, after a disputable end to their contest. The game had ended in disturbance. It was thought at first that the United States had won, by a single point, but it was announced that there were three seconds still to play. A Russian player then threw the ball from one end of the court to the other, and another player popped it into the basket. It was the first time the USA had ever lost an Olympic basketball match. An appeal jury debated the matter for four and a half hours before announcing that the result would stand. The American players then voted not to receive the silver medals.

Incidents of this kind will continue as long as sport is played competitively rather than for the love of the game. The suggestion that athletes should compete as individuals, or in non-national teams, might be too much to hope for. But in the present organization of the Olympics there is far too much that encourages aggressive patriotism.

41.   According to the author, recent Olympic Games have ________.

[A] created goodwill between the nations[B] bred only false national pride

[C] barely showed any international friendship

[D] led to more and more misunderstanding and hatred

42.   What did the manager mean by saying, “... Hockey and the International Hockey Federation are finished”?

[A] His team would no longer take part in international games.

[B] Hockey and the Federation are both ruined by the unfair decisions.

[C] There should be no more hockey matches organized by the Federation.

[D] The Federation should be dissolved.

43.   The basketball example implied that ________.

[A] too much patriotism was displayed in the incident

[B] the announcement to prolong the match was wrong

[C] the appeal jury was too hesitant in making the decision

[D] the American team was right in rejecting the silver medals

44.   The author gives the two examples in paragraphs 2 and 3 to show ________.

[A] how false national pride led to undesirable incidents in international games

[B] that sportsmen have been more obedient than they used to be

[C] that competitiveness in the games discourages international friendship

[D] that unfair decisions are common in Olympic Games

45.   What conclusion can be drawn from the passage?

[A] The organization of the Olympic Games must be improved.

[B] Athletes should compete as individual in the Olympic Games.

[C] Sport should be played competitively rather than for the love of the game.

[D] International contests are liable for misunderstanding between nations.

31.   [C]  32.   [D]  33.   [A]  34.   [B]  35.   [B]36.     [D]  37.   [D]  38.   [D]  39.   [A]  40.   [D]

41.   [C]  42.   [B]  43.   [A]  44.   [C]  45.   [A]

1993年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语试题Section II: Reading Comprehension

Text 1

Is language, like food, a basic human need without which a child at a critical period of life can be starved and damaged? Judging from the drastic experiment of Frederick II in the thirteenth century, it may be. Hoping to discover what language a child would speak if he heard no mother tongue, he told the nurses to keep silent.

All the infants died before the first year. But clearly there was more than lack of language here. What was missing was good mothering. Without good mothering, in the first year of life especially, the capacity to survive is seriously affected.

Today no such severe lack exists as that ordered by Frederick. Nevertheless, some children are still backward in speaking. Most often the reason for this is that the mother is insensitive to the signals of the infant, whose brain is programmed to learn language rapidly. If these sensitive periods are neglected, the ideal time for acquiring skills passes and they might never be learned so easily again. A bird learns to sing and to fly rapidly at the right time, but the process is slow and hard once the critical stage has passed.

Experts suggest that speech stages are reached in a fixed sequence and at a constant age, but there are cases where speech has started late in a child who eventually turns out to be of high IQ. At twelve weeks a baby smiles and makes vowel-like sounds; at twelve months he can speak simple words and understand simple commands; at eighteen months he has a vocabulary of three to fifty words. At three he knows about 1,000 words which he can put into sentences, and at four his language differs from that of his parents in style rather than grammar.

Recent evidence suggests that an infant is born with the capacity to speak. What is special about man’s brain, compared with that of the monkey, is the complex system which enables a child to connect the sight and feel of, say, a toy-bear with the sound pattern “toy-bear.” And even more incredible is the young brain’s ability to pick out an order in language from the mixture of sound around him, to analyze, to combine and recombine the parts of a language in new ways.

But speech has to be induced, and this depends on interaction between the mother and the child, where the mother recognizes the signals in the child’s babbling (咿呀学语), grasping and smiling, and responds to them. Insensitivity of the mother to these signals dulls the interaction because the child gets discouraged and sends out only the obvious signals. Sensitivity to the child’s non-verbal signals is essential to the growth and development of language.

31.   The purpose of Frederick II’s experiment was ________.

[A] to prove that children are born with the ability to speak

[B] to discover what language a child would speak without hearing any human speech

[C] to find out what role careful nursing would play in teaching a child to speak

[D] to prove that a child could be damaged without learning a language

32.   The reason some children are backward in speaking is most probably that ________.

[A] they are incapable of learning language rapidly

[B] they are exposed to too much language at once

[C] their mothers respond inadequately to their attempts to speak

[D] their mothers are not intelligent enough to help them

33.   What is exceptionally remarkable about a child is that ________.

[A] he is born with the capacity to speak[B] he has a brain more complex than an animal’s

[C] he can produce his own sentences[D] he owes his speech ability to good nursing

34.   Which of the following can NOT be inferred from the passage?

[A] The faculty of speech is inborn in man.

[B] Encouragement is anything but essential to a child in language learning.

[C] The child’s brain is highly selective.

[D] Most children learn their language in definite stages.

35.   If a child starts to speak later than others, he will ________.

[A] have a high IQ[B] be less intelligent

[C] be insensitive to verbal signals[D] not necessarily be backward

Text 2

In general, our society is becoming one of giant enterprises directed by a bureaucratic (官僚主义的) management in which man becomes a small, well-oiled cog in the machinery. The oiling is done with higher wages, well-ventilated factories and piped music, and by psychologists and “human-relations” experts; yet all this oiling does not alter the fact that man has become powerless, that he does not wholeheartedly participate in his work and that he is bored with it. In fact, the blue- and the white-collar workers have become economic puppets who dance to the tune of automated machines and bureaucratic management.

The worker and employee are anxious, not only because they might find themselves out of a job; they are anxious also because they are unable to acquire any real satisfaction or interest in life. They live and die without ever having confronted the fundamental realities of human existence as emotionally and intellectually independent and productive human beings.

Those higher up on the social ladder are no less anxious. Their lives are no less empty than those of their subordinates. They are even more insecure in some respects. They are in a highly competitive race. To be promoted or to fall behind is not a matter of salary but even more a matter of self-respect. When they apply for their first job, they are tested for intelligence as well as for the tight mixture of submissiveness and independence. From that moment on they are tested again and again -- by the psychologists, for whom testing is a big business, and by their superiors, who judge their behavior, sociability, capacity to get along, etc. This constant need to prove that one is as good as or better than one’s fellow-competitor creates constant anxiety and stress, the very causes of unhappiness and illness.

Am I suggesting that we should return to the preindustrial mode of production or to nineteenth-century “free enterprise” capitalism? Certainly not. Problems are never solved by returning to a stage which one has already outgrown. I suggest transforming our social system from a bureaucratically managed industrialism in which maximal production and consumption are ends in themselves into a humanist industrialism in which man and full development of his potentialities -- those of love and of reason -- are the aims of all social arrangements. Production and consumption should serve only as means to this end, and should be prevented from ruling man.

36.   By “a well-oiled cog in the machinery” the author intends to render the idea that man is ________.

[A] a necessary part of the society though each individual’s function is negligible

[B] working in complete harmony with the rest of the society

[C] an unimportant part in comparison with the rest of the society, though functioning smoothly

[D] a humble component of the society, especially when working smoothly

37.   The real cause of the anxiety of the workers and employees is that ________.

[A] they are likely to lose their jobs

[B] they have no genuine satisfaction or interest in life

[C] they are faced with the fundamental realities of human existence

[D] they are deprived of their individuality and independence

38.   From the passage we can infer that real happiness of life belongs to those ________.

[A] who are at the bottom of the society[B] who are higher up in their social status

[C] who prove better than their fellow-competitors

[D] who could keep far away from this competitive world

39.   To solve the present social problems the author suggests that we should ________.

[A] resort to the production mode of our ancestors

[B] offer higher wages to the workers and employees

[C] enable man to fully develop his potentialities

[D] take the fundamental realities for granted

40.   The author’s attitude towards industrialism might best be summarized as one of ________.

[A] approval[B] dissatisfaction[C] suspicion[D] tolerance

Text 3

When an invention is made, the inventor has three possible courses of action open to him: he can give the invention to the world by publishing it, keep the idea secret, or patent it.

A granted patent is the result of a bargain struck between an inventor and the state, by which the inventor gets a limited period of monopoly (垄断) and publishes full details of his invention to the public after that period terminates.

Only in the most exceptional circumstances is the lifespan of a patent extended to alter this normal process of events.

The longest extension ever granted was to Georges Valensi; his 1939 patent for color TV receiver circuitry was extended until 1971 because for most of the patent’s normal life there was no colour TV to receive and thus no hope of reward for the invention.

Because a patent remains permanently public after it has terminated, the shelves of the library attached to the patent office contain details of literally millions of ideas that are free for anyone to use and, if older than half a century, sometimes even re-patent. Indeed, patent experts often advise anyone wishing to avoid the high cost of conducting a search through live patents that the one sure way of avoiding violation of any other inventor’s right is to plagiarize a dead patent.

Likewise, because publication of an idea in any other form permanently invalidates further patents on that idea, it is traditionally safe to take ideas from other areas of print. Much modern technological advance is based on these presumptions of legal security.

Anyone closely involved in patents and inventions soon learns that most “new” ideas are, in fact, as old as the hills. It is their reduction to commercial practice, either through necessity or dedication, or through the availability of new technology, that makes news and money. The basic patent for the theory of magnetic recording dates back to 1886. Many of the original ideas behind television originate from the late 19th and early 20th century. Even the Volkswagen rear engine car was anticipated by a 1904 patent for a cart with the horse at the rear.

41.   The passage is mainly about ________.

[A] an approach to patents[B] the application for patents

[C] the use of patents[D] the access to patents

42.   Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

[A] When a patent becomes out of effect, it can be re-patented or extended if necessary.

[B] It is necessary for an inventor to apply for a patent before he makes his invention public.

[C] A patent holder must publicize the details of his invention when its legal period is over.

[D] One can get all the details of a patented invention from a library attached to the patent office.

43.   George Valensi’s patent lasted until 1971 because ________.

[A] nobody would offer any reward for his patent prior to that time

[B] his patent could not be put to use for an unusually long time

[C] there were not enough TV stations to provide colour programmes

[D] the colour TV receiver was not available until that time

44.   The word “plagiarize” (line 8, Para. 5) most probably means “________.”

[A] steal and use[B] give reward to[C] make public[D] take and change

45.   From the passage we learn that ________.

[A] an invention will not benefit the inventor unless it is reduced to commercial practice

[B] products are actually inventions which were made a long time ago

[C] it is much cheaper to buy an old patent than a new one

[D] patent experts often recommend patents to others by conducting a search through dead patents

31.   [B]  32.   [C]  33.   [C]  34.   [B]  35.   [D]36.     [C]  37.   [D]  38.   [D]  39.   [C]  40.   [B]

41.   [D]  42.   [C]  43.   [B]  44.   [A]  45.   [A]

1994年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语试题Section III: Reading Comprehension

Text 1

The American economic system is organized around a basically private-enterprise, market-oriented economy in which consumers largely determine what shall be produced by spending their money in the marketplace for those goods and services that they want most. Private businessmen, striving to make profits, produce these goods and services in competition with other businessmen; and the profit motive, operating under competitive pressures, largely determines how these goods and services are produced. Thus, in the American economic system it is the demand of individual consumers, coupled with the desire of businessmen to maximize profits and the desire of individuals to maximize their incomes, that together determine what shall be produced and how resources are used to produce it.

An important factor in a market-oriented economy is the mechanism by which consumer demands can be expressed and responded to by producers. In the American economy, this mechanism is provided by a price system, a process in which prices rise and fall in response to relative demands of consumers and supplies offered by seller-producers. If the product is in short supply relative to the demand, the price will be bid up and some consumers will be eliminated from the market. If, on the other hand, producing more of a commodity results in reducing its cost, this will tend to increase the supply offered by seller-producers, which in turn will lower the price and permit more consumers to buy the product. Thus, price is the regulating mechanism in the American economic system.

The important factor in a private-enterprise economy is that individuals are allowed to own productive resources (private property), and they are permitted to hire labor, gain control over natural resources, and produce goods and services for sale at a profit. In the American economy, the concept of private property embraces not only the ownership of productive resources but also certain rights, including the right to determine the price of a product or to make a free contract with another private individual.

51.   In Line 11, Paragraph 1, “the desire of individuals to maximize their incomes” means ________.

[A] Americans are never satisfied with their incomes

[B] Americans tend to overstate their incomes

[C] Americans want to have their incomes increased

[D] Americans want to increase the purchasing power of their incomes

52.   The first two sentences in the second paragraph tell us that ________.

[A] producers can satisfy the consumers by mechanized production

[B] consumers can express their demands through producers

[C] producers decide the prices of products[D] supply and demand regulate prices

53.   According to the passage, a private-enterprise economy is characterized by ________.

[A] private property and rights concerned[B] manpower and natural resources control

[C] ownership of productive resources[D] free contracts and prices

54.   The passage is mainly about ________.

[A] how American goods are produced[B] how American consumers buy their goods

[C] how American economic system works[D] how American businessmen make their profits

Text 2

One hundred and thirteen million Americans have at least one bank-issued credit card. They give their owners automatic credit in stores, restaurants, and hotels, at home, across the country, and even abroad, and they make many banking services available as well. More and more of these credit cards can be read automatically, making it possible to withdraw or deposit money in scattered locations, whether or not the local branch bank is open. For many of us the “cashless society” is not on the horizon -- it’s already here.

While computers offer these conveniences to consumers, they have many advantages for sellers too. Electronic cash registers can do much more than simply ring up sales. They can keep a wide range of records, including who sold what, when, and to whom. This information allows businessmen to keep track of their list of goods by showing which items are being sold and how fast they are moving. Decisions to reorder or return goods to suppliers can then be made. At the same time these computers record which hours are busiest and which employees are the most efficient, allowing personnel and staffing assignments to be made accordingly. And they also identify preferred customers for promotional campaigns. Computers are relied on by manufacturers for similar reasons. Computer-analyzed marketing reports can help to decide which products to emphasize now, which to develop for the future, and which to drop. Computers keep track of goods in stock, of raw materials on hand, and even of the production process itself.

Numerous other commercial enterprises, from theaters to magazine publishers, from gas and electric utilities to milk processors, bring better and more efficient services to consumers through the use of computers.

55.   According to the passage, the credit card enables its owner to ________.

[A] withdraw as much money from the bank as he wishes

[B] obtain more convenient services than other people do

[C] enjoy greater trust from the storekeeper[D] cash money wherever he wishes to

56.   From the last sentence of the first paragraph we learn that ________.

[A] in the future all the Americans will use credit cards

[B] credit cards are mainly used in the United States today

[C] nowadays many Americans do not pay in cash

[D] it is now more convenient to use credit cards than before

57.   The phrase “ring up sales” (Line 3, Para. 2) most probably means “________”.

[A] make an order of goods[B] record sales on a cash register

[C] call the sales manager[D] keep track of the goods in stock

58.   What is this passage mainly about?

[A] Approaches to the commercial use of computers.

[B] Conveniences brought about by computers in business.

[C] Significance of automation in commercial enterprises.

[D] Advantages of credit cards in business.

Text 3

Exceptional children are different in some significant way from others of the same age. For these children to develop to their full adult potential, their education must be adapted to those differences.

Although we focus on the needs of exceptional children, we find ourselves describing their environment as well. While the leading actor on the stage captures our attention, we are aware of the importance of the supporting players and the scenery of the play itself. Both the family and the society in which exceptional children live are often the key to their growth and development. And it is in the public schools that we find the full expression of society’s understanding -- the knowledge, hopes, and fears that are passed on to the next generation.

Education in any society is a mirror of that society. In that mirror we can see the strengths, the weaknesses, the hopes, the prejudices, and the central values of the culture itself. The great interest in exceptional children shown in public education over the past three decades indicates the strong feeling in our society that all citizens, whatever their special conditions, deserve the opportunity to fully develop their capabilities.

“All men are created equal.” We’ve heard it many times, but it still has important meaning for education in a democratic society. Although the phrase was used by this country’s founders to denote equality before the law, it has also been interpreted to mean equality of opportunity. That concept implies educational opportunity for all children -- the right of each child to receive help in learning to the limits of his or her capacity, whether that capacity be small or great. Recent court decisions have confirmed the right of all children -- disabled or not -- to an appropriate education, and have ordered that public schools take the necessary steps to provide that education. In response, schools are modifying their programs, adapting instruction to children who are exceptional, to those who cannot profit substantially from regular programs.

59.   In Paragraph 2, the author cites the example of the leading actor on the stage to show that

[A] the growth of exceptional children has much to do with their family and the society

[B] exceptional children are more influenced by their families than normal children are

[C] exceptional children are the key interest of the family and society

[D] the needs of the society weigh much heavier than the needs of the exceptional children

60.   The reason that the exceptional children receive so much concern in education is that ________.

[A] they are expected to be leaders of the society[B] they might become a burden of the society

[C] they should fully develop their potentials[D] disabled children deserve special consideration

61.   This passage mainly deals with ________.

[A] the differences of children in their learning capabilities

[B] the definition of exceptional children in modern society

[C] the special educational programs for exceptional children

[D] the necessity of adapting education to exceptional children

62.   From this passage we learn that the educational concern for exceptional children ________.

[A] is now enjoying legal support[B] disagrees with the tradition of the country

[C] was clearly stated by the country’s founders[D] will exert great influence over court decisions

Text 4

“I have great confidence that by the end of the decade we’ll know in vast detail how cancer cells arise,” says microbiologist Robert Weinberg, an expert on cancer. “But,” he cautions, “some people have the idea that once one understands the causes, the cure will rapidly follow. Consider Pasteur, he discovered the causes of many kinds of infections, but it was fifty or sixty years before cures were available.”

This year, 50 percent of the 910,000 people who suffer from cancer will survive at least five years. In the year 2000, the National Cancer Institute estimates, that figure will be 75 percent. For some skin cancers, the five-year survival rate is as high as 90 percent. But other survival statistics are still discouraging -- 13 percent for lung cancer, and 2 percent for cancer of the pancreas.

With as many as 120 varieties in existence, discovering how cancer works is not easy. The researchers made great progress in the early 1970s, when they discovered that oncogenes, which are cancer-causing genes, are inactive in normal cells. Anything from cosmic rays to radiation to diet may activate a dormant oncogene, but how remains unknown. If several oncogenes are driven into action, the cell, unable to turn them off, becomes cancerous.

The exact mechanisms involved are still mysterious, but the likelihood that many cancers are initiated at the level of genes suggests that we will never prevent all cancers. “Changes are a normal part of the evolutionary process,” says oncologist William Hayward. Environmental factors can never be totally eliminated; as Hayward points out, “We can’t prepare a medicine against cosmic rays.”

The prospects for cure, though still distant, are brighter.

“First, we need to understand how the normal cell controls itself. Second, we have to determine whether there are a limited number of genes in cells which are always responsible for at least part of the trouble. If we can understand how cancer works, we can counteract its action.”

63.   The example of Pasteur in the passage is used to ________.

[A] predict that the secret of cancer will be disclosed in a decade

[B] indicate that the prospects for curing cancer are bright

[C] prove that cancer will be cured in fifty to sixty years

[D] warn that there is still a long way to go before cancer can be conquered

64.   The author implies that by the year 2000, ________.

[A] there will be a drastic rise in the five-year survival rate of skin-cancer patients

[B] 90 percent of the skin-cancer patients today will still be living

[C] the survival statistics will be fairly even among patients with various cancers

[D] there won’ t be a drastic increase of survival rate of all cancer patients

65.   Oncogenes are cancer-causing genes ________.

[A] that are always in operation in a healthy person

[B] which remain unharmful so long as they are not activated

[C] that can be driven out of normal cells

[D] which normal cells can’t turn off

66.   The word “dormant” in the third paragraph most probably means ________.

[A] dead[B] ever-present[C] inactive[D] potential

Text 5

Discoveries in science and technology are thought by “untaught minds” to come in blinding flashes or as the result of dramatic accidents. Sir Alexander Fleming did not, as legend would have it, look at the mold on a piece of cheese and get the idea for penicillin there and then. He experimented with antibacterial substances for nine years before he made his discovery. Inventions and innovations almost always come out of laborious trial and error. Innovation is like soccer; even the best players miss the goal and have their shots blocked much more frequently than they score.

The point is that the players who score most are the ones who take most shots at the goal -- and so it goes with innovation in any field of activity. The prime difference between innovation and others is one of approach. Everybody gets ideas, but innovators work consciously on theirs, and they follow them through until they prove practicable or otherwise. What ordinary people see as fanciful abstractions, professional innovators see as solid possibilities.

“Creative thinking may mean simply the realization that there’s no particular virtue in doing things the way they have always been done,” wrote Rudolph Flesch, a language authority. This accounts for our reaction to seemingly simple innovations like plastic garbage bags and suitcases on wheels that make life more convenient: “How come nobody thought of that before?”

The creative approach begins with the proposition that nothing is as it appears. Innovators will not accept that there is only one way to do anything. Faced with getting from A to B, the average person will automatically set out on the best-known and apparently simplest route. The innovator will search for alternate courses, which may prove easier in the long run and are bound to be more interesting and challenging even if they lead to dead ends.

Highly creative individuals really do march to a different drummer.

67.   What does the author probably mean by “untaught mind” in the first paragraph?

[A] A person ignorant of the hard work involved in experimentation.

[B] A citizen of a society that restricts personal creativity.

[C] A person who has had no education.

[D] An individual who often comes up with new ideas by accident.

68.   According to the author, what distinguishes innovators from non-innovators?

[A] The variety of ideas they have.[B] The intelligence they possess.

[C] The way they deal with problems.[D] The way they present their findings.

69.   The author quotes Rudolph Flesch in Paragraph 3 because ________.

[A] Rudolph Flesch is the best-known expert in the study of human creativity

[B] the quotation strengthens the assertion that creative individuals look for new ways of doing things

[C] the reader is familiar with Rudolph Flesch’s point of view

[D] the quotation adds a new idea to the information previously presented

70.   The phrase “march to a different drummer” (the last line of the passage) suggests that highly creative individuals are ________.

[A] diligent in pursuing their goals[B] reluctant to follow common ways of doing things

[C] devoted to the progress of science[D] concerned about the advance of society

51.   [D]  52.   [D]  53.   [A]  54.   [C]  55.   [B]56.     [C]  57.   [B]  58.   [B]  59.   [A]  60.   [C]

61.   [D]  62.   [A]  63.   [D]  64.   [D]  65.   [B]66.     [C]  67.   [A]  68.   [C]  69.   [B]  70.   [B]

1995年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语试题Section III: Reading Comprehension

Text 1

Money spent on advertising is money spent as well as any I know of. It serves directly to assist a rapid distribution of goods at reasonable price, thereby establishing a firm home market and so making it possible to provide for export at competitive prices. By drawing attention to new ideas it helps enormously to raise standards of living. By helping to increase demand it ensures an increased need for labour, and is therefore an effective way to fight unemployment. It lowers the costs of many services: without advertisements your daily newspaper would cost four times as much, the price of your television license would need to be doubled, and travel by bus or tube would cost 20 per cent more.

And perhaps most important of all, advertising provides a guarantee of reasonable value in the products and services you buy. Apart from the fact that twenty-seven acts of Parliament govern the terms of advertising, no regular advertiser dare promote a product that fails to live up to the promise of his advertisements. He might fool some people for a little while through misleading advertising. He will not do so for long, for mercifully the public has the good sense not to buy the inferior article more than once. If you see an article consistently advertised, it is the surest proof I know that the article does what is claimed for it, and that it represents good value.

Advertising does more for the material benefit of the community than any other force I can think of.

There is one more point I feel I ought to touch on. Recently I heard a well-known television personality declare that he was against advertising because it persuades rather than informs. He was drawing excessively fine distinctions. Of course advertising seeks to persuade.

If its message were confined merely to information -- and that in itself would be difficult if not impossible to achieve, for even a detail such as the choice of the colour of a shirt is subtly persuasive -- advertising would be so boring that no one would pay any attention. But perhaps that is what the well-known television personality wants.

51.   By the first sentence of the passage the author means that ________.

[A] he is fairly familiar with the cost of advertising

[B] everybody knows well that advertising is money consuming

[C] advertising costs money like everything else

[D] it is worthwhile to spend money on advertising

52.   In the passage, which of the following is NOT included in the advantages of advertising?

[A] Securing greater fame.[C] Enhancing living standards.

[B] Providing more jobs.[D] Reducing newspaper cost.

53.   The author deems that the well-known TV personality is ________.

[A] very precise in passing his judgment on advertising

[B] interested in nothing but the buyers’ attention

[C] correct in telling the difference between persuasion and information

[D] obviously partial in his views on advertising

54.   In the author’s opinion, ________.

[A] advertising can seldom bring material benefit to man by providing information

[B] advertising informs people of new ideas rather than wins them over

[C] there is nothing wrong with advertising in persuading the buyer

[D] the buyer is not interested in getting information from an advertisement

Text 2

There are two basic ways to see growth: one as a product, the other as a process. People have generally viewed personal growth as an external result or product that can easily be identified and measured. The worker who gets a promotion, the student whose grades improve, the foreigner who learns a new language -- all these are examples of people who have measurable results to show for their efforts.

By contrast, the process of personal growth is much more difficult to determine, since by definition it is a journey and not the specific signposts or landmarks along the way. The process is not the road itself, but rather the attitudes and feelings people have, their caution or courage, as they encounter new experiences and unexpected obstacles. In this process, the journey never really ends; there are always new ways to experience the world, new ideas to try, new challenges to accept.

In order to grow, to travel new roads, people need to have a willingness to take risks, to confront the unknown, and to accept the possibility that they may “fail” at first. How we see ourselves as we try a new way of being is essential to our ability to grow. Do we perceive ourselves as quick and curious? If so, then we tend to take more chances and to be more open to unfamiliar experiences. Do we think we’re shy and indecisive? Then our sense of timidity can cause us to hesitate, to move slowly, and not to take a step until we know the ground is safe. Do we think we’re slow to adapt to change or that we’re not smart enough to cope with a new challenge? Then we are likely to take a more passive role or not try at all.

These feelings of insecurity and self-doubt are both unavoidable and necessary if we are to change and grow. If we do not confront and overcome these internal fears and doubts, if we protect ourselves too much, then we cease to grow. We become trapped inside a shell of our own making.

55.   A person is generally believed to achieve personal growth when ________.

[A] he has given up his smoking habit[B] he has made great efforts in his work

[C] he is keen on leaning anything new[D] he has tried to determine where he is on his journey

56.   In the author’s eyes, one who views personal growth as a process would ________.

[A] succeed in climbing up the social ladder

[B] judge his ability to grow from his own achievements

[C] face difficulties and take up challenges[D] aim high and reach his goal each time

57.   When the author says “a new way of being” (line 2~3, Para. 3) he is referring to ________.

[A] a new approach to experiencing the world[C] a new method of perceiving ourselves

[B] a new way of taking risks[D] a new system of adaptation to change

58.   For personal growth, the author advocates all of the following except ________.

[A] curiosity about more chances[C] open-mindedness to new experiences

[B] promptness in self-adaptation[D] avoidance of internal fears and doubts

Text 3

In such a changing, complex society formerly simple solutions to informational needs become complicated. Many of life’s problems which were solved by asking family members, friends or colleagues are beyond the capability of the extended family to resolve. Where to turn for expert information and how to determine which expert advice to accept are questions facing many people today.

In addition to this, there is the growing mobility of people since World War II. As families move away from their stable community, their friends of many years, their extended family relationships, the informal flow of information is cut off, and with it the confidence that information will be available when needed and will be trustworthy and reliable. The almost unconscious flow of information about the simplest aspects of living can be cut off. Thus, things once learned subconsciously through the casual communications of the extended family must be consciously learned.

Adding to societal changes today is an enormous stockpile of information. The individual now has more information available than any generation, and the task of finding that one piece of information relevant to his or her specific problem is complicated, time-consuming and sometimes even overwhelming.

Coupled with the growing quantity of information is the development of technologies which enable the storage and delivery of more information with greater speed to more locations than has ever been possible before. Computer technology makes it possible to store vast amounts of data in machine-readable files, and to program computers to locate specific information. Telecommunications developments enable the sending of messages via television, radio, and very shortly, electronic mail to bombard people with multitudes of messages. Satellites have extended the power of communications to report events at the instant of occurrence. Expertise can be shared world wide through teleconferencing, and problems in dispute can be settled without the participants leaving their homes and/or jobs to travel to a distant conference site. Technology has facilitated the sharing of information and the storage and delivery of information, thus making more information available to more people.

In this world of change and complexity, the need for information is of greatest importance. Those people who have accurate, reliable up-to-date information to solve the day-to-day problems, the critical problems of their business, social and family life, will survive and succeed. “Knowledge is power” may well be the truest saying and access to information may be the most critical requirement of all people.

59.   The word “it” (line 3, Para. 2) most probably refers to ________.

[A] the lack of stable communities

[B] the breakdown of informal information channels[C] the increased mobility of families

[D] the growing number of people moving from place to place

60.   The main problem people may encounter today arises from the fact that ________.

[A] they have to learn new things consciously

[B] they lack the confidence of securing reliable and trustworthy information

[C] they have difficulty obtaining the needed information readily

[D] they can hardly carry out casual communications with an extended family

61.   From the passage we can infer that ________.

[A] electronic mail will soon play a dominant role in transmitting messages

[B] it will become more difficult for people to keep secrets in an information era

[C] people will spend less time holding meetings or conferences

[D] events will be reported on the spot mainly through satellites

62.   We can learn from the last paragraph that ________.

[A] it is necessary to obtain as much knowledge as possible

[B] people should make the best use of the information

[C] we should realize the importance of accumulating information

[D] it is of vital importance to acquire needed information efficiently

Text 4

Personality is to a large extent inherent -- A-type parents usually bring about A-type offspring. But the environment must also have a profound effect, since if competition is important to the parents, it is likely to become a major factor in the lives of their children.

One place where children soak up A-characteristics is school, which is, by its very nature, a highly competitive institution. Too many schools adopt the ‘win at all costs’ moral standard and measure their success by sporting achievements. The current passion for making children compete against their classmates or against the clock produces a two-layer system, in which competitive A-types seem in some way better than their B-type fellows. Being too keen to win can have dangerous consequences: remember that Pheidippides, the first marathon runner, dropped dead seconds after saying: “Rejoice, we conquer!”

By far the worst form of competition in schools is the disproportionate emphasis on examinations. It is a rare school that allows pupils to concentrate on those things they do well. The merits of competition by examination are somewhat questionable, but competition in the certain knowledge of failure is positively harmful.

Obviously, it is neither practical nor desirable that all A-youngsters change into B’s. The world needs A types, and schools have an important duty to try to fit a child’s personality to his possible future employment. It is top management.

If the preoccupation of schools with academic work was lessened, more time might be spent teaching children surer values. Perhaps selection for the caring professions, especially medicine, could be made less by good grades in chemistry and more by such considerations as sensitivity and sympathy. It is surely a mistake to choose our doctors exclusively from A-type stock. B’s are important and should be encouraged.

63.   According to the passage, A-type individuals are usually ________.

[A] impatient[B] considerate[C] aggressive[D] agreeable

64.   The author is strongly opposed to the practice of examinations at schools because ________.

[A] the pressure is too great on the students[B] some students are bound to fail

[C] failure rates are too high[D] the results of exanimations are doubtful

65.   The selection of medical professionals is currently based on ________.

[A] candidates’ sensitivity[B] academic achievements

[C] competitive spirit[D] surer values

66.   From the passage we can draw the conclusion that ________.

[A] the personality of a child is well established at birth

[B] family influence dominates the shaping of one’s characteristics

[C] the development of one’s personality is due to multiple factors

[D] B-type characteristics can find no place in competitive society

Text 5

That experiences influence subsequent behaviour is evidence of an obvious but nevertheless remarkable activity called remembering. Learning could not occur without the function popularly named memory. Constant practice has such as effect on memory as to lead to skillful performance on the piano, to recitation of a poem, and even to reading and understanding these words. So-called intelligent behaviour demands memory, remembering being a primary requirement for reasoning. The ability to solve any problem or even to recognize that a problem exists depends on memory. Typically, the decision to cross a street is based on remembering many earlier experiences.

Practice (or review) tends to build and maintain memory for a task or for any learned material. Over a period of no practice what has been learned tends to be forgotten; and the adaptive consequences may not seem obvious. Yet, dramatic instances of sudden forgetting can be seen to be adaptive. In this sense, the ability to forget can be interpreted to have survived through a process of natural selection in animals. Indeed, when one’s memory of an emotionally painful experience leads to serious anxiety, forgetting may produce relief. Nevertheless, an evolutionary interpretation might make it difficult to understand how the commonly gradual process of forgetting survived natural selection.

In thinking about the evolution of memory together with all its possible aspects, it is helpful to consider what would happen if memories failed to fade. Forgetting clearly aids orientation in time, since old memories weaken and the new tend to stand out, providing clues for inferring duration. Without forgetting, adaptive ability would suffer, for example, learned behaviour that might have been correct a decade ago may no longer be. Cases are recorded of people who (by ordinary standards) forgot so little that their everyday activities were full of confusion. This forgetting seems to serve that survival of the individual and the species.

Another line of thought assumes a memory storage system of limited capacity that provides adaptive flexibility specifically through forgetting. In this view, continual adjustments are made between learning or memory storage (input) and forgetting (output). Indeed, there is evidence that the rate at which individuals forget is directly related to how much they have learned. Such data offers gross support of contemporary models of memory that assume an input-output balance.

67.   From the evolutionary point of view, ________.

[A] forgetting for lack of practice tends to be obviously inadaptive

[B] if a person gets very forgetful all of a sudden he must be very adaptive

[C] the gradual process of forgetting is an indication of an individual’s adaptability

[D] sudden forgetting may bring about adaptive consequences

68.   According to the passage, if a person never forgot, ________.

[A] he would survive best[B] he would have a lot of trouble

[C] his ability to learn would be enhanced[D] the evolution of memory would stop

69.   From the last paragraph we know that ________.

[A] forgetfulness is a response to learning

[B] the memory storage system is an exactly balanced input-output system

[C] memory is a compensation for forgetting

[D] the capacity of a memory storage system is limited because forgetting occurs

70.   In this article, the author tries to interpret the function of ________.

[A] remembering[B] forgetting[C] adapting[D] experiencing

51.   [D]  52.   [A]  53.   [D]  54.   [C]  55.   [A]56.     [C]  57.   [A]  58.   [D]  59.   [B]  60.   [C]

61.   [A]  62.   [D]  63.   [C]  64.   [B]  65.   [B]66.     [C]  67.   [D]  68.   [B]  69.   [A]  70.   [B]

1996年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语试题Section III: Reading Comprehension

Text l

Tight-lipped elders used to say, “It’s not what you want in this world, but what you get.”

Psychology teaches that you do get what you want if you know what you want and want the right things.

You can make a mental blueprint of a desire as you would make a blueprint of a house, and each of us is continually making these blueprints in the general routine of everyday living. If we intend to have friends to dinner, we plan the menu, make a shopping list, decide which food to cook first, and such planning is an essential for any type of meal to be served.

Likewise, if you want to find a job, take a sheet of paper, and write a brief account of yourself. In making a blueprint for a job, begin with yourself, for when you know exactly what you have to offer, you can intelligently plan where to sell your services.

This account of yourself is actually a sketch of your working life and should include education, experience and references. Such an account is valuable. It can be referred to in filling out standard application blanks and is extremely helpful in personal interviews. While talking to you, your could-be employer is deciding whether your “wares” and abilities must be displayed in an orderly and reasonably connected manner.

When you have carefully prepared a blueprint of your abilities and desires, you have something tangible to sell. Then you are ready to hunt for a job. Get all the possible information about your could-be job. Make inquiries as to the details regarding the job and the firm. Keep your eyes and ears open, and use your own judgment. Spend a certain amount of time each day seeking the employment you wish for, and keep in mind: Securing a job is your job now.

51.   What do the elders mean when they say, “It’s not what you want in this world, but what you get.”?

[A] You’ll certainly get what you want.[B] It’s no use dreaming.

[C] You should be dissatisfied with what you have.[D] It’s essential to set a goal for yourself.

52.   [A] blueprint made before inviting a friend to dinner is used in this passage as ________.

[A] an illustration of how to write an application for a job

[B] an indication of how to secure a good job

[C] a guideline for job description[D] a principle for job evaluation

53.   According to the passage, one must write an account of himself before starting to find a job because ________.

[A] that is the first step to please the employer[B] that is the requirement of the employer

[C] it enables him to know when to sell his services

[D] it forces him to become clearly aware of himself

54.   When you have carefully prepared a blueprint of your abilities and desires, you have something ________.

[A] definite to offer[B] imaginary to provide[C] practical to supply[D] desirable to present

Text 2

With the start of BBC World Service Television, millions of viewers in Asia and America can now watch the Corporation’s news coverage, as well as listen to it. And of course in Britain listeners and viewers can tune in to two BBC television channels, five BBC national radio services and dozens of local radio station. They are brought sport, comedy, drama, music, news and current affairs, education, religion, parliamentary coverage, children’s programmes and films for an annual license fee of 83 pounds per household.

It is a remarkable record, stretching back over 70 years -- yet the BBC’s future is now in doubt. The Corporation will survive as a publicly-funded broadcasting organization, at least for the time being, but its role, its size and its programmes are now the subject of a nation-wide debate in Britain.

The debate was launched by the Government, which invited anyone with an opinion of the BBC -- including ordinary listeners and viewers -- to say what was good or bad about the Corporation, and even whether they thought it was worth keeping. The reason for its inquiry is that the BBC’s royal charter runs out in 1996 and it must decide whether to keep the organization as it is, or to make changes.

Defenders of the Corporation -- of whom there are many -- are fond of quoting the American slogan “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The BBC “ain’t broke,” they say, by which they mean it is not broken (as distinct from the word ‘broke’, meaning having no money), so why bother to change it?

Yet the BBC will have to change, because the broadcasting world around it is changing. The commercial TV channels -- TV and Channel 4 -- were required by the Thatcher Government’s Broadcasting Act to become more commercial, competing with each other for advertisers, and cutting costs and jobs. But it is the arrival of new satellite channels -- funded partly by advertising and partly by viewers’ subscriptions -- which will bring about the biggest changes in the long term.

55.   The world famous BBC now faces ________.

[A] the problem of new coverage[B] an uncertain prospect

[C] inquiries by the general public[D] shrinkage of audience

56.   In the passage, which of the following about the BBC is NOT mentioned as the key issue?

[A] Extension of its TV service to Far East.

[B] Programmes as the subject of a nation-wide debate.

[C] Potentials for further international co-operations.

[D] Its existence as a broadcasting organization.

57.   The BBC’s “royal charter” (Line 4, Paragraph 3) stands for ________.

[A] the financial support from the royal family[B] the privileges granted by the Queen

[C] a contract with the Queen[D] a unique relationship with the royal family

58.   The foremost reason why the BBC has to readjust itself is no other than ________.

[A] the emergence of commercial TV channels

[B] the enforcement of Broadcasting Act by the government

[C] the urgent necessity to reduce costs and jobs[D] the challenge of new satellite channels

Text 3

In the last half of the nineteenth century “capital” and “labour” were enlarging and perfecting their rival organizations on modern lines. Many an old firm was replaced by a limited liability company with a bureaucracy of salaried managers. The change met the technical requirements of the new age by engaging a large professional element and prevented the decline in efficiency that so commonly spoiled the fortunes of family firms in the second and third generation after the energetic founders. It was moreover a step away from individual initiative, towards collectivism and municipal and state-owned business. The railway companies, though still private business managed for the benefit of shareholders, were very unlike old family business. At the same time the great municipalities went into business to supply lighting, trams and other services to the taxpayers.

The growth of the limited liability company and municipal business had important consequences. Such large, impersonal manipulation of capital and industry greatly increased the numbers and importance of shareholders as a class, an element in national life representing irresponsible wealth detached from the land and the duties of the landowners; and almost equally detached from the responsible management of business. All through the nineteenth century, America, Africa, India, Australia and parts of Europe were being developed by British capital, and British shareholders were thus enriched by the world’s movement towards industrialization. Towns like Bournemouth and Eastbourne sprang up to house large “comfortable” classes who had retired on their incomes, and who had no relation to the rest of the community except that of drawing dividends and occasionally attending a shareholders’ meeting to dictate their orders to the management. On the other hand “shareholding” meant leisure and freedom which was used by many of the later Victorians for the highest purpose of a great civilization.

The “shareholders” as such had no knowledge of the lives, thoughts or needs of the workmen employed by the company in which he held shares, and his influence on the relations of capital and labour was not good. The paid manager acting for the company was in more direct relation with the men and their demands, but even he had seldom that familiar personal knowledge of the workmen which the employer had often had under the more patriarchal system of the old family business now passing away. Indeed the mere size of operations and the numbers of workmen involved rendered such personal relations impossible. Fortunately, however, the increasing power and organization of the trade unions, at least in all skilled trades, enabled the workmen to meet on equal terms the managers of the companies who employed them. The cruel discipline of the strike and lockout taught the two parties to respect each other’s strength and understand the value of fair negotiation.

59.   It’s true of the old family firms that ________.

[A] they were spoiled by the younger generations[B] they failed for lack of individual initiative

[C] they lacked efficiency compared with modern companies

[D] they could supply adequate services to the taxpayers

60.   The growth of limited liability companies resulted in ________.

[A] the separation of capital from management[B] the ownership of capital by managers

[C] the emergence of capital and labour as two classes

[D] the participation of shareholders in municipal business

61.   According to the passage, all of the following are true except that ________.

[A] the shareholders were unaware of the needs of the workers

[B] the old firm owners hand a better understanding of their workers

[C] the limited liability companies were too large to run smoothly

[D] the trade unions seemed to play a positive role

62.   The author is most critical of ________.

[A] family film owners[B] landowners[C] managers[D] shareholders

Text 4

What accounts for the great outburst of major inventions in early America -- breakthroughs such as the telegraph, the steamboat and the weaving machine?

Among the many shaping factors, I would single out the country’s excellent elementary schools; a labor force that welcomed the new technology; the practice of giving premiums to inventors; and above all the American genius for nonverbal, “spatial” thinking about things technological.

Why mention the elementary schools? Because thanks to these schools our early mechanics, especially in the New England and Middle Atlantic states, were generally literate and at home in arithmetic and in some aspects of geometry and trigonometry.

Acute foreign observers related American adaptiveness and inventiveness to this educational advantage. As a member of a British commission visiting here in 1853 reported, “With a mind prepared by thorough school discipline, the American boy develops rapidly into the skilled workman.”

A further stimulus to invention came from the “premium” system, which preceded our patent system and for years ran parallel with it. This approach, originated abroad, offered inventors medals, cash prizes and other incentives.

In the United States, multitudes of premiums for new devices were awarded at country fairs and at the industrial fairs in major cities. Americans flocked to these fairs to admire the new machines and thus to renew their faith in the beneficence of technological advance.

Given this optimistic approach to technological innovation, the American worker took readily to that special kind of nonverbal thinking required in mechanical technology. As Eugene Ferguson has pointed out, “A technologist thinks about objects that cannot be reduced to unambiguous verbal descriptions; they are dealt with in his mind by a visual, nonverbal process... The designer and the inventor... are able to assemble and manipulate in their minds devices that as yet do not exist.”

This nonverbal “spatial” thinking can be just as creative as painting and writing. Robert Fulton once wrote, “The mechanic should sit down among levers, screws, wedges, wheels, etc., like a poet among the letters of the alphabet, considering them as an exhibition of his thoughts, in which a new arrangement transmits a new idea.”

When all these shaping forces -- schools, open attitudes, the premium system, a genius for spatial thinking -- interacted with one another on the rich U.S. mainland, they produced that American characteristic, emulation. Today that word implies mere imitation. But in earlier times it meant a friendly but competitive striving for fame and excellence.

63.   According to the author, the great outburst of major inventions in early America was in a large part due to ________.

[A] elementary schools[B] enthusiastic workers[C] the attractive premium system

[D] a special way of thinking

64.   It is implied that adaptiveness and inventiveness of the early American mechanics ________.

[A] benefited a lot from their mathematical knowledge

[B] shed light on disciplined school management

[C] was brought about by privileged home training

[D] owed a lot to the technological development

65.   A technologist can be compared to an artist because ________.

[A] they are both winners of awards[B] they are both experts in spatial thinking

[C] they both abandon verbal description[D] they both use various instruments

66.   The best title for this passage might be ________.

[A] Inventive Mind[B] Effective Schooling[c] Ways of Thinking[D] Outpouring of Inventions

Text 5

Rumor has it that more than 20 books on creationism/evolution are in the publisher’s pipelines. A few have already appeared. The goal of all will be to try to explain to a confused and often unenlightened citizenry that there are not two equally valid scientific theories for the origin and evolution of universe and life. Cosmology, geology, and biology have provided a consistent, unified, and constantly improving account of what happened. “Scientific” creationism, which is being pushed by some for “equal time” in the classrooms whenever the scientific accounts of evolution are given, is based on religion, not science. Virtually all scientists and the majority of nonfundamentalist religious leaders have come to regard “scientific” creationism as bad science and bad religion.

The first four chapters of Kitcher’s book give a very brief introduction to evolution. At appropriate places, he introduces the criticisms of the creationists and provides answers. In the last three chapters, he takes off his gloves and gives the creationists a good beating. He describes their programmes and tactics, and, for those unfamiliar with the ways of creationists, the extent of their deception and distortion may come as an unpleasant surprise. When their basic motivation is religious, one might have expected more Christian behavior.

Kitcher is a philosopher, and this may account, in part, for the clarity and effectiveness of his arguments. The non-specialist will be able to obtain at least a notion of the sorts of data and argument that support evolutionary theory. The final chapter on the creationists will be extremely clear to all. On the dust jacket of this fine book, Stephen Jay Gould says: “This book stands for reason itself.” And so it does -- and all would be well were reason the only judge in the creationism/evolution debate.

67.   “Creationism” in the passage refers to ________.

[A] evolution in its true sense as to the origin of the universe

[B] a notion of the creation of religion

[C] the scientific explanation of the earth formation

[D] the deceptive theory about the origin of the universe

68.   Kitcher’s book is intended to ________.

[A] recommend the views of the evolutionists[B] expose the true features of creationists

[C] curse bitterly at this opponents[D] launch a surprise attack on creationists

69.   From the passage we can infer that ________.

[A] reasoning has played a decisive role in the debate

[B] creationists do not base their argument on reasoning

[C] evolutionary theory is too difficult for non-specialists

[D] creationism is supported by scientific findings

70.   This passage appears to be a digest of ________.

[A] a book review[B] a scientific paper[C] a magazine feature[D] a newspaper editorial

51.   [B]  52.   [A]  53.   [D]  54.   [A]  55.   [B]56.     [C]  57.   [C]  58.   [D]  59.   [C]  60.   [A]

61.   [C]  62.   [D]  63.   [D]  64.   [A]  65.   [B]66.     [A]  67.   [D]  68.   [B]  69.   [B]  70.   [A]