万学海文 教研中心英语教研室

　　Section I  

　　Use of English

　　Directions:

　　Readthe following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A,B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)

　　As many people hit middle age, they often start to notice thattheir memory and mental clarity are not what they used to be. We suddenlycan’t  remember 1    we put the keys just a moment ago, or an oldacquaintance’s name, or the name of an old band we used to love. As the brain 2   ,we refer to these occurrences as “seniormoments。” 3   seemingly innocent, this loss of mental focuscan potentially have a(n) 4   impact on our professional , social ,andpersonal 5   。

　　Neuroscientists, experts who study the nervous system, areincreasingly showing that there’s actually a lot that can be done. It  6   out that the brain needs exercise in much thesame way our muscles do, and the right mental 7   can significantly improve our basic cognitive 8   .Thinking is essentially a 9   ofmaking connections in the brain. To a certain extent, our ability to 10   in making the connections thatdrive intelligence is inherited. 11___, becausethese connections are made through effort and fluctuate __12_ mental effort。

　　Now,a new Web-based companyhas taken it a step __13__ and developed the first "brain trainingProgram"designed to actually help people improve and regain their mental__14__。

　　The Web-based program 15 you to systematically improve yourmemory and attention skills. The program keeps 16 of your progress andprovides detailed feedback 17  your performance and improvement. Mostimportantly, it 18  modifies andenhances the games you play to 19  on the strengths you are developing-much likea(n) 20   exercise routine requires you to increaseresistance and vary your muscle use。

　　1. [A] where                 [B]when                  [C] that                    [D] why

　　2.[A] improves             [B] fades                  [C] recover              [D] collapses

　　3.[A] unless                 [B] while                  [C] once                  [D] if

　　4. [A] damaging            [B] limited                [C]uneven               [D] obscure

　　5.[A] relationship         [B]environment        [C] welling               [D]outlook

　　6. [A] figures                 [B] finds                   [C]points                [D] turns

　　7.[A] responses           [B] roundabout        [C] workouts           [D] associations

　　8.[A] genre                  [B] criterion             [C] circumstances    [D] functions

　　9.[A] channel               [B] sequence            [C] process              [D] condition

　　10. [A] feature                [B]excel                 [C] persist                [D] believe

　　11. [A] however              [B]moreover

　　[C]otherwise           [D] therefore

　　12. [A] instead of            [B]according           [C] apart from          [D] regardless

　　13. [A] further                 [B]back                  [C] aside                  [D] around

　　14. [A] framework          [B]stability              [C] flexibility            [D] sharpness

　　15. [A] hurries               [B]reminds              [C] allows                [D] forces

　　16. [A] hold                    [B] track                  [C]order                [D] pace

　　17. [A] to                       [B]with                  [C] for                     [D] on

　　18. [A] constantly           [B]habitually            [C] irregularly          [D] unusually

　　19. [A] put                      [B] carry                  [C]build                 [D] take

　　20. [A] idle                     [B]familiar               [C] risky                 [D] effective

　　Section II  Reading Comprehension

　　Part A

　　Directions:

　　Read the following four texts. Answer the questions beloweach text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET. (40points)

　　Text 1

　　In order to"change lives for the better" and reduce "dependency."George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, introduced the"upfront work search" scheme. Only if the jobless arrive at the job centrewith a CV, register for the online job search, and start looking for work willthey be eligible for benefit - and then they should report weekly rather thanfortnightly. What could be more reasonable?

　　More apparentreasonableness followed. There will now be a seven-day wait for the jobseeker'sallowance. "Those first few days should be spent looking for work, notlooking to sign on." he claimed, "We're doing these things because weknow they help people stay off benefits and help those on benefits get intowork faster." Help? Really? On first hearing, this was the socially concernedchancellor, trying to change lives for the better, complete with"reforms" to an obviously indulgent system that demands too littleeffort from the newly unemployed to find work, and subsidises laziness. Whatmotivated him, we were to understand was his zeal for "fundamentalfairness" - protecting the taxpayer, controlling spending and ensuringthat only the most deserving claimants received their benefits。

　　Losing a jobis hurting: you don’t skip down to the job centre with a song in your heart,delighted at the prospect of doubling your income from the generous state. Itis financially terrifying, psychologically embarrassing and you know thatsupport is minimal and extraordinarily hard to get. You are now not wanted; youare now excluded from the work environment that offers purpose and structure inyour life. Worse, the crucial income to feed yourself and your family and paythe bills has disappeared. Ask anyone newly unemployed what they want and theanswer is always: a job。

　　But in Osborneland,your first instinct is to fall into dependency-permanent dependency if you canget it –supported by a state only too ready to indulge your falsehood .It is asthough 20 years of ever –tougher reforms of the job search and benefitadministration system never happened .The principle of British welfare is nolonger that you can insure yourself against the risk of unemployment andreceive unconditional payments if the disaster happens. Even the veryphrase“jobseeker’s allowance” is about redefining the unemployed as a “jobseeker”whohad no fundamental right to benefit he or she has earned through makingnational insurance contributions. Instead, the claimant receives a time-limited“allowance”， conditional on actively seeking a job: no entitlement and noinsurance, at ￡71.70 a week ,one of the least generous inthe EU。

　　21.George Osborne’sscheme was intended to 

　　[A] providethe unemployed with easier access to benefits。

　　[B] encouragejobseeker’ s active engagement in job seeking. 

　　[C] motivatethe unemployed to report voluntarily。

　　[D] guaranteejobseekers’ legitimate right to benefit。

　　22.The phase “to sighon”(Line 3,Para.2)most probably means 

　　[A]to check onthe availability of  jobs at the job centre。

　　[B]to acceptthe government’s restrictions on the government. 

　　[C]to registerfor an allowance from the government. 

　　[D]to attend agovernmental job-training program. 

　　23.What prompted thechancellor to develop his scheme?  

　　[A]A desire tosecure a better life for all. 

　　[B]Aneagerness to protect the unemployed. 

　　[C]An urge tobe generous to the claimants. 

　　[D]A passionto ensure fairness for taxpayers. 

　　24.According to Paragraph3,being unemployed makes one feel 

　　[A]uneasy. 

　　[B]enraged. 

　　[C]insulted. 

　　[D]guilty. 

　　25.To which of thefollowing would the author most probably agree？  

　　[A]The Britishwelfare system indulges jobseekers’ laziness. 

　　[B]Osborne’sreform will reduce the risk of unemployment. 

　　[C]Thejobseekers’ allowance has met their actual needs. 

　　[D]Unemployment benefits should not bemade conditional。

　　Text 2

　　All around theworld, lawyers generate more hostility than the members of any other profession--- with the possible exception of journalism. But there are few places whereclients have more grounds for complaint than America。

　　During the decadebefore the economic crisis, spending on legal services in America grewtwice as fast as inflation. The best lawyers made skyscrapers-full of money.Tempting ever more students to pile into law schools. But most law graduatesnever get a big-firm job. Many of them instead become the kind ofnuisance-lawsuit filer that makes the tort system a costly nightmare。

　　There are manyreasons for this. One is the excessive costs of a legal education. There isjust one path for a lawyer in most American states; a four-year undergraduatedegree in some unrelated subject, then a three-year law degree at one of 200law schools authorized by the American Bar Association and an expensivepreparation for the bar exam. This leaves today’s average law-school graduatewith $100,000 of debt on top of undergraduate debts. Law-school debt means thatthey have to work fearsomely hard。

　　Reforming thesystem would help both lawyers and their customers. Sensible ideas have beenaround for a long time, but the state-level bodies that govern the professionhave been too conservative to implement them. One idea is to allow people tostudy law as an undergraduate degree. Another is to let students sit for thebar after only two years of law school. If the bar exam is truly a stern enoughtest for a would-be lawyer, those who can sit it earlier should be allowed todo so. Students who do need the extra training could cut their debt mountain bya third。

　　The otherreason why costs are so high is the restrictive guild-like ownership structure ofthe business. Except in the District of Columbia, non-lawyers may not own any share of alaw firm. This keeps fees high and innovation slow. There is pressure forchange from within the profession, but opponents of change among the regulatorsinsist that keeping outsiders out of a law firm isolates lawyers from thepressure to make money rather than serve clients ethically。

　　In fact,allowing non-lawyers to own shares in law firms would reduce costs and improveservices to customers, by encouraging law firms to use technology and to employprofessional managers to focus on improving firms’ efficiency . After all,other countries, such as Australiaand Britain,have stared liberalizing their legal professions. America should follow。

　　26.  A lot of students take up law as theirprofession due to

　　[A]  the growing demand from clients

　　[B]  the increasing pressure of inflation

　　[C]  the prospect of  working in big firms

　　[D]  the attraction of financial rewards

　　27.  which of the following adds to the costs oflegal education in most American states?

　　[A]  Higher tuition fees for undergraduate studies

　　[B]  Receiving training by professionalassociations

　　[C]  Admissions approval from the bar association

　　[D]  Pursuing a bachelors degree in another major

　　28.   Hindrance to the reform of the legal systemoriginates from

　　[A]  the rigid bodies governing the profession

　　[B]  lawyers’ and clients’ strong resistance

　　[C]  the stern exam for would-be lawyers。

　　[D]  non-professionals’ sharpcriticism

　　29.  The guild-like ownership structure isconsidered “restrictive”partly because

　　[A]  prevents lawyers from gaining due profits。

　　[B]  bans outsiders’ involvement in theprofession。

　　[C]  aggravates the ethical situation in the trade。

　　[D]  keeps lawyers form lidding law-firm shares。

　　30.   In the text ,the author mainly discusses。

　　[A]  the factors that help make a successfullawyer in America。

　　[B]  a problem in America’s legal profession ardsolutions to it。

　　[C]  the role undergraduate studies in America’slegal education。

　　[D]  flawed ownership of America’s law firms and its causes。

　　Text 3

　　The US＄3 million Fundamental Physics isindeed an interesting experiment, as Alexander Polyakov said when he acceptedthis year’s award in March. And it is fair from the only one of this type. As aNew Feature article in Nature discusses, a string of lucrative awardsfor research have joined the Nobel Prizes in recent years. Many, like theFundamental Physics Prize, are funded from the telephones-number-sized bankaccounts of Internet entrepreneurs. These benefactors have succeeded in theirchosen fields, they say, and they want to use their wealth to draw attention tothose who have succeeded in science。

　　What’s not tolike? Quite a lot, according to a handful of scientists quoted in the NewsFeature. You cannot buy class, as the old saying goes, and these upstartentrepreneurs cannot buy their prizes the prestige of the Nobels. The newawards are an exercise in self-promotion for those behind them, say scientists.They could distort the achievement-based system of peer-review-led research.They could cement the status quo of peer-reviewed research. They do not fundpeer-reviewed research. They perpetuate the myth of the lone genius。

　　The goals of the prize-givers seem asscattered as the criticism. Some want to shock, others to draw people intoscience, or to better reward those who have made their careers in research。

　　As Nature

　　has pointed out before, there ere some legitimate concerns about how scienceprize-both new and old –are distributed. The Breakthrough Prize in LifeSciences, launched this year, takes an unrepresentative view of what the lifescience include. But the Nobel Foundation’s limit three recipients per prize,each of whom must still be living, has long been outgrown by the collaborativenature of modern research – as will be demonstrated by the inevitable row overwho is ignored when it comes to acknowledging the discovery of the Higgs boson.The Nobel were, of course, themselves set up by a very rich individual who haddecided what he wanted to do with his own money. Time, rather than intention,has given them legitimacy。

　　As much assome science may complain about the new awards, two things seem clear. First,most researchers would accept such a prize of they were offered one. Second, itis surely a good thing that the money and attention come to science rather goelsewhere. It is fair to criticize and question the mechanism- that is theculture of research, after all-but it is the prize-givers’ money to do with asthey please. It is wise to take such gifts with gratitude and grace。

　　31.  The Fundamental Physics Prize is seen as

　　[A] a symbolof the entrepreneurs’ wealth。

　　[B] a handsomereward for researchers。

　　[C] a possiblereplacement of the Nobel Prizes。

　　[D] an exampleof bankers’investments。

　　32.  The critics think that the new awards will mostbenefit

　　[A] theprofit-oriented scientists。

　　[B]  the achievement-based system。

　　[C]  the founders of the new awards

　　[D]  peer-review-led research。

　　33. The discovery of theHiggs boson is a typical case which involves

　　[A]  legitimate concerns over the new prizes。

　　[B]  controversies over the recipients＇s status。

　　[C]  the joint effort of modern researchers。

　　[D]  the demonstration of research finding。

　　34.  According to Paragraph 4, which of thefollowing is true of the Nobels?

　　[A]  History has never cast doubt on them。

　　[B]  their endurance has done justice to them。

　　[C]  They are the most representative honor。

　　[D]  Their legitimacy has long been in dispute。

　　35.   The author believes that the new awards are

　　[A]  unworthy of public attention。

　　[B]  subject to undesirable changes 。

　　[C]  harmful to the culture of research。

　　[D]  acceptable despite the criticism。

　　Text 4

　　The Hear of the Matter,”the just –released report by the American Academy of Arts and sciences(AAAS)， deserves praise for affirming the importance of the humanities andsocial sciences to the prosperity and security of liberal democracy in America.Regrettably，however，the report’s failure toaddress the true nature of the crisis facing liberal education may cause moreharm than good。

　　In 2010，leading congressionalDemocrats and Republicans sent letters to the AAAS asking that it identifyactions that could be taken by “federal，state and local government，universities，foundations， educators，individual benefactor and others” to “maintain national excellence in humanitiesand social scientific scholarship and education。” In response, the American  Academyformed the Commission on the Humanities and Social Science .Among thecommission’s51 members are top-tier-university presidents, scholars, lawyers, judges,and business executives as well as prominent figures from diplomacy, filmmaking,music and journalism。

　　The goals identified in the report aregenerally admirable .Because representative government presupposes an informedcitizenry, the report supports full literacy; stresses the study of history andgovernment, particularly American history and American government; andencourages the use of new digital technologies. To encourage innovation andcompetition, the report calls for increased investment in research, thecrafting of coherent curricula that improve students’ ability to solve problemsand communicate effectively in the 21st century, increased funding for teachersand the encouragement of scholars to bring greater study of foreign languages, internationalaffairs and the expansion of study abroad programs。

　　Unfortunately, despite 2.5 years in themaking, "The Heart of  theMatter" never gets to the heart of the matter: the illiberal nature ofliberal education at our leading colleges and universities. The commissionignores that for several decades America's colleges and universitieshave produced graduates who don't know the content and character of liberaleducation and are thus deprived of its benefits. Sadly, the spirit of inquiryonce at home on campus has been replaced by the use of the humanities andsocial sciences as vehicles for publicizing "progressive," orleft-liberal propaganda。

　　Today, professors routinely treat theprogressive interpretation of history and progressive public policy as theproper subject of study while portraying conservative or classical liberalideas-such as free markets and self-reliance-as falling outside the boundariesof routine, and something legitimate, intellectual investigation。

　　The AAAS displays great enthusiasm forliberal education . Yet its report may well set back reform by obscuring thedepth and breadth of the challenge that Congress asked it to illuminate。

　　36. According to Paragraph1, what is the author’s attitude toward the AAAS’s report?

　　[A] Critical

　　[B]  Appreciative

　　[C]  Contemptuous

　　[D]Tolerant

　　37.  Influential figures in the congress requiredthat the AAAS report on how to

　　[A]  define the government’s role in education

　　[B]  safeguard individuals’ rights to education

　　[C]  retain people’s interest in liberal education

　　[D]  keep a leading position in liberal education

　　38.   According to paragraph 3,the report suggests

　　[A]  an exclusive study of American history。

　　[B]  a greater emphasis on theoretical subjects。

　　[C]  the application of emerging technologies。

　　[D]  funding for the study of foreign languages。

　　39.  the author implies in paragraph 5 thatprofessors are

　　[A]  supportive of free markets

　　[B]  conservative about public policy。

　　[C]  biased against classical liberal ideas。

　　[D]  cautious about intellectual investigation。

　　40.   which of the following would be the besttitle for the text?

　　[A]  Ways to Grasp “The Heart of the matter”

　　[B]  Illiberal Education and “The Heart of theMatter”

　　[C]  The AAAS’s contribution to Liberal Education

　　[D]  Progressive Policy vs Liberal Education

　　Part B

　　Directions:

　　Thefollowing paragraphs are given in a wrong order. For Questions 41-45, you arerequired to reorganize these paragraphs into a coherent text by choosing fromthe list A-G and filling them into the numbered boxes. Paragraphs A and E havebeen correctly placed.Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)

　　[A] Some archaeological siteshave always been easily observable—for example, the Parthenon in Athens, Greece,the pyramids of Giza in Egypt and the megaliths of Stonehenge insouthern England.But these sites are exceptions to the norm. Most archaeological sites have beenlocated by means of careful searching, while many others have been discoveredby accident. Olduvai Gorge, an early hominid site in Tanzania, was found by a butterflyhunter who literally fell into its deep valley in 1911. Thousands of Aztecartifacts came to light during the digging of the Mexico City subway in the 1970s。

　　[B] In another case, Americanarchaeologists Rene Million and George Cowgill spent years systematicallymapping the entire city of Teotihuacan in the Valley of Mexiconear what is now Mexico City.At its peak around AD 600,this city was one of the largest human settlements inthe world. The researchers mapped not only the city’s vast and ornateceremonial areas, but also hundreds of simpler apartment complexes where commonpeople lived。

　　[C]How do archaeologists knowwhere to find what they are looking for when there is nothing visible on thesurface of the ground? Typically, they survey and sample (make test excavationson) large areas of terrain to determine where excavation will yield usefulinformation. Surveys and test samples have also become important forunderstanding the larger landscapes that contain archaeological sites

　　[D]Surveys can cover a singlelarge settlement or entire landscapes. In one case, many researchers workingaround the ancient Maya city of Copan, Honduras, havelocated hundreds of small rural villages and individual dwellings by using aerialphotographs and by making surveys on foot. The revaluing settlement maps showhow the distribution and density of the rural population around the citychanged dramatically between AD500 and 850,when Copan collapsed. 

　　[E] To find their sites, archaeologists today rely heavily onsystematic survey methods and a variety of high-technology tools andtechniques. Airborne technologies, such as different types of radar andphotographic equipment carried by airplanes or spacecraft . allowarchaeologists to learn about what lies beneath the ground without digging.Aerial surveys locate general areas of interest or larger buried features, suchas ancient buildings or fields。

　　[F]Most archaeologicalsites, however, are discovered by archaeologists who have set out to look forthem. Such searches can take years. British archaeologists Howard Carter knewthat the tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun existed from informationfound in other sites. Carter sifted through rubble in the Valley of the Kings for seven years before he located the tomb in 1922.In the late 1800s British archaeologists Sir Arthur Evans combed antiquedealers’ stores in Athens, Greece. He was searching for tinyengraved seals attributed to the ancient Mycenaean culture that dominated Greece from the1400s to 1200s BC. Evans’ interpretations of these engravings eventually him tofind the Minoan palace at Knossos(Knossos)， on the island of Crete,in 1900.

　　[G]Ground surveys allowarchaeologists to pinpoint the places where digs will be successful. Mostground surveys involve a lot of walking, looking for surface clues such issmall fragments of pottery. They often include a certain amount of digging totest for buried materials at selected points across a landscape. Archaeologistsalso may locate buried remains by using such technologies as ground radar,magnetic-field recording, and metal detectors. Archaeologists commonly usecomputers to map site and the landscapes around sites. Two-andthree-dimensional maps are helpful tools in planning excavations, illustratinghow sites look, and presenting the results of archaeological research。

　　41→A→42→E→43→44→44→45

　　Section III  Translation

　　Directions:

　　Read the following textcarefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese. Yourtranslation should be written clearly on ANSWER SHEET 2. (10 points)

　　Music means different thingsto different people and sometimes even different things to the same person atdifferent moments of his life. It might be poetic, philosophical, sensual, ormathematical, but in any case it must, in my view, have something to do withthe soul of the human being. Hence it is metaphysical; but the means ofexpression is purely and exclusively physical: sound. I believe it is preciselythis permanent coexistence of metaphysical message through physical means thatis the strength of music. (46) It is also the reason why when we try todescribe music with words, all we can do is articulate our reactions to it, andnot grasp music itself。

　　Beethoven’s importance inmusic has been principally defined by the revolutionary nature of hiscompositions. He freed music from hitherto prevailing conventions of harmonyand structure. Sometimes I feel in his late works a will to break all signs ofcontinuity. The music is abrupt and seemingly disconnected, as in the lastpiano sonata. In musical expression, he did not feel restrained by the weightof convention. (47) By all accounts he was a freethinking person, and acourageous one, and I find courage an essential quality for the understanding,let alone the performance, of his works。

　　This courageous attitude infact becomes a requirement for the performers of Beethoven’s music. Hiscompositions demand the performer to show courage, for example in the use ofdynamics. (48) Beethoven’s habit of increasing the volume with an intensecrescendo and then abruptly following it with a sudden soft passage  was only rarely used by composers before him。

　　Beethoven was a deeplypolitical man in the broadest sense of the word. He was not interested in dailypolitics, but concerned with questions of moral behaviour and the largerquestions of right and wrong affecting the entire society. (49) Especiallysignificant was his view of freedom, which, for him, was associated with therights and responsibilities of the individual: he advocated freedom of thoughtand of personal expression。

　　Beethoven’s music tends tomove from chaos to order as if order were an imperative of human existence. Forhim, order does not result from forgetting or ignoring the disorders thatplague our existence; order is a necessary development, an improvement that maylead to the Greek ideal of catharsis. It is not by chance that the FuneralMarch is not the last movement of the Eroica Symphony, but the second, so thatsuffering does not have the last word. (50) One could paraphrase much of thework of Beethoven by saying that suffering is inevitable, but the courage tofight it renders life worth living。

　　Section IV  Writing

　　Part A

　　51. Directions:

　　Write a letter of about100words to the president of your university, suggesting how to improvestudents physical condition 。

　　You should include thedetails on the you think necessary。

　　You should write neatly onthe ANSWER SHEET。

　　Do not sign your own name atthe end of the letter .Use “Li Ming”instead。

　　Do not write the address (10points)

　　Part B

　　52. Directions:

　　Write anessay of 160-200 words based on the following drawing. In your essay you should

　　1) describethe drawing briefly

　　2) explainits intended meaning, and

　　3) give yourcomments

　　You shouldwrite neatly on ANSWER SHEET. (20 points)