1. Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a letter in reply. You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words following the outline given below. 假设你是王峰,你的外籍教师格林先生想来北京工作时购买一套合适的公寓并向你询问相关信息。请写一封信告知格林先生你从报纸上得到的消息。报纸广告如下:
Dear Mr. Green, I'm rather glad to hear that you are coming soon. I've just read about an advertisement for apartments for sale, which you might be interested in. I'm writing to inform you. The residential community I found is Sunny Square, and it is located in Chaoyang District, east of Beijing. It is next to the Great Wall Hotel, and just one kilometer away from the Airport Expressway. The community has different buildings with various designs for different choices. Plenty of green fields and parking places are accessible in the community. There are also schools, restaurants, a hospital and a modern shopping center as well. The kitchen and the bathroom are well furnished. Hot water and elevators are available twenty-four hours a day. I have made an on-the-spot investigation and think it is worthy of its name. Convenient and comfortable as it is, you would like to live there. If you need further information, you may call 12345678. Best wishes.
Yours sincerely, Wang Feng
Part Ⅱ Listening Comprehension
Section A Directions: In this section, you will hear two long conversations. At the end of each conversation, you will hear four questions. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A, B, C and D.
[听力原文] W: Hmm, hi. M: Hi, I am going door to door tonight to tell people about the student action coalition. Do you have a few minutes? W: Sure. I read something in the newspaper last week. M: Yeah, there was an article about us since the last issue. See, we are trying to protect and conserve some of the open spaces on campus. W: That's right. You are the group that's opposing the extension of the parking lot next to Smith Hall, right? M: That's us. We just feel it is important to save some of the natural beauty of the campus, like Over-by Swing. Some of those trees are hundreds of years old. W: It is a pretty spot. My friends and I had picnics over there by the creek. M: Then you understand how we feel. We are organizing a rally on Thursday afternoon to get the administration to reconsider the parking lot plan. W: Well, I have a class on Thursday afternoon. M: But maybe you could sign this petition. We're going to submit it to the administration to demonstrate how the students feel about this. W: Sure, let me get a pen and I'll sign it. M: I have a pen right here. And let me leave you this pamphlet about the student action coalition. Maybe you could come to some of our meetings. We get together once a month. W: Yeah, I'd like to know more about your group. Let me know when the next meeting is and I'll try to be there. M: The meeting is held on the fifth each month, and your coming will be welcome. How did the woman first learn about the student action coalition? [解析] 选项主语均以She开头,可推断本题询问有关女士的情况,所以女士的话是听音重点。男士说明自己的来意后,女士说:“我上周在报纸上读过(关于你们的)文章”,故选C。
2.
A.Secure more student parking spaces.
B.Preserve open spaces on campus.
C.Get more funding for their group.
D.Schedule a meeting with college administrators.
A B C D
B
[听力原文] What is the student action coalition trying to do? [解析] 选项均以原形动词开头,推测本题问建议或打算。男士说:“我们正在努力保护校园里面的户外空地。”选项B的preserve是对原文中的protect and conserve的同义概括,故答案应为B。
3.
A.Help the man plan a student rally.
B.Use the student parking lot.
C.Make a donation to support the group.
D.Sign a petition.
A B C D
D
[听力原文] What does the woman agree to do? [解析] 所有选项都是动词开头,听音时应注意录音中提到的关键动词。男士建议女士签请愿书,女士痛快地答应要找支笔签字,故答案为D。
4.
A.She is interested in the student action coalition.
B.She will definitely come to the next meeting.
C.She will have a picnic with her friend.
D.She hates to get together with others.
A B C D
A
[听力原文] What can we know about the woman from the conversation? [解析] 对话末尾女士说:“我想知道更多有关该组织的信息,请告知我下次会议的开会时间,我会尽量到会”,可见女士对学生行动联盟这个组织感兴趣,故答案为A。B错在definitely,女士只是说try to be there,不表示她一定会到,所以不选B。
D.Monolingual people were better at making decisions.
A B C D
A
[听力原文] W: In the early 1950s, researchers found that people scored lower on intelligence tests if they spoke more than one language. Research in the 1960s found the opposite. Bilingual people scored higher than monolingual people who spoke only one language. So which is it, Dr. Hanson? M: The latest evidence shows that being bilingual does not necessarily make people smarter. But it probably does make you better at certain skills. W: Improve some skills? Why would bilingualism make us any better at that? M: The answer is that bilingual people are often better at controlling their attention—a function called the executive control system. It's quite possibly the most important cognitive system we have because it's where all of our decisions about what to attend to, what to ignore, and what to process are made. W: Can the executive control system be measured specifically? M: Yes, the best method to measure the executive control system is called the Stroop Test. A person is shown words in different colors. The person has to ignore the words but say the colors. The problem is that the words are all names of colors. W: Bilingual people continually practice this function? M: They have to, because both languages are active in their brain at the same time. They need to suppress one to be able to speak in the other. W: I guess this exercise can improve some of our skills. M: Researchers say bilingual children are better able to separate a word from its meaning, and more likely to have friends from different cultures. Bilingual adults are often four to five years later than others in developing some disease.
What did the research on intelligence tests in the 1960s find?
6.
A.They can master languages quite easily.
B.They can control their attention better.
C.They can tell apart the colors quickly.
D.They have better cognitive system.
A B C D
B
[听力原文] What is the bilingual people's advantage according to the latest research?
7.
A.They have to make use of their brain frequently.
B.They have to make one language inhibit the other.
C.They have to remember more new words.
D.They have to ignore the unnecessary information attentively.
A B C D
B
[听力原文] Why do bilingual people practice their executive control system constantly?
8.
A.Adaptability in different cultures.
B.Bilingual communication skills.
C.Relating the spelling of a word to its meaning.
D.Preventing diseases in terrible environment.
A B C D
A
[听力原文] What skills can be developed by bilingual children?
Section B Directions: In this section, you will hear two passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear three or four questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A, B, C and D.
B.He got his first permanent job with no difficulty.
C.His education couldn't meet the job requirements.
D.He had bad work performance as a trainee.
A B C D
A
[听力原文] When Alex Godson started his first unpaid internship in Brussels, Belgium, home of the EU's many political institutions, he believed a full-time position was within his grasp. But it took him another three years of low-paid traineeships until he got his master's degree from Manchester University. He was then offered a permanent job at the European Movement International, a lobby group. His experience is not unique, as nearly a quarter of all under-25s, more than 19 million people, in the EU are jobless, according to the latest statistics. In Spain and Greece, which have been hardest hit by the recession, youth unemployment now exceeds 50 percent. In Sweden, under-25s account for 38 percent of those in unemployment, and they are taking to the streets in protest. With fears of a "lost generation" rising, EU leaders met to discuss the details of an action plan to tackle youth unemployment. They agreed to spend 6 billion euros on creating jobs and traineeships, The Guardian reported. But economists have warned that throwing money at the problem will not necessarily accelerate its resolution. Instead, they stress that the key is economic growth. "It's not possible to create jobs in a recessionary environment—you need growth to pick up," Carsten Brzeski, from the international banking company ING, told Reuters. Europe's young people, however, are not willing to wait for a miracle to happen; they are finding other ways of dealing with their grim circumstances. Some choose to delay employment by traveling or volunteering, some look abroad for better opportunities, while others stay put and seek to change their fate.
D.The weight of the boxes moving across the stage.
A B C D
B
[听力原文] A scientific team is studying the thinking ability of eleven-and-a-half-month-old children. The test is a simple one. The baby watches a sort of show on a small stage. In Act I of the show, a yellow cube is lifted from a blue box and moved across the stage. Then it is returned to the box. This is repeated six times. Act Ⅱ is similar, except that the yellow cube is smaller. Baby boys do not react at all to the difference in the size of the cube, but girls immediately become excited. The scientists interpret the girls' excitement as meaning they are trying to understand what they have just seen. They are wondering why Act Ⅱ is odd and how it differs from Act I. In other words, the little girls are reasoning. This experiment certainly does not definitely prove that girls start to reason before boys. But it provides a clue that scientists would like to study more carefully. Already it is known that bones, muscles, and nerves develop faster in baby girls. Perhaps it is early nerve development that makes some infant girls show more intelligence than infant boys. Scientists have also found that nature seems to give another boost to girls. Baby girls usually talk at an earlier age than boys do. Scientists think that there is a physical reason for this. They believe that the nerve endings in the left side of the brain develop faster in girls than in boys. And it is this side of the brain that strongly influences an individual's ability to use language and remember things.
What is the difference between Act I and Act Ⅱ in the test?
5.
A.Boys enjoy playing with cubes more than girls.
B.Girls tend to get excited more easily than boys.
C.Girls seem to start reasoning earlier than boys.
D.Boys pay more attention to moving objects than girls.
A B C D
C
[听力原文] How do the scientists interpret their observation from the experiment?
6.
A.It is a breakthrough in the study of the nerve system.
B.It may stimulate scientists to make further studies.
C.Its result helps understand babies' language ability.
D.Its findings are quite contrary to previous research.
A B C D
B
[听力原文] What does the speaker say about the experiment?
7.
A.The two sides of their brain develop simultaneously.
B.They are better able to adapt to the surroundings.
C.Their bones mature earlier.
D.They talk at an earlier age.
A B C D
D
[听力原文] According to scientists, what is another advantage given to girls by nature?
Section C Directions: In this section, you will hear three recordings of lectures or talks followed by three or four questions. The recordings will be played only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A, B, C and D.
[听力原文] News can be something the authorities want you to know, or something they would rather keep secret. An announcement of a government success, a denial of a failure, or, a secret scandal that nobody really wants you to talk about. If the authorities want to tell the world some good news, they issue statements and call press conferences. Or politicians make speeches. Local newspapers, radio and television help to alert foreign correspondents to what is going on. And by malting contacts with local officials, journalists can ask for more information or explanation to help them write their stories. Unless the correspondent is an eyewitness, it's rare to trust any single source. Officials have a policy to defend, and opposition politicians want to attack it. Rumor and gossip can also confuse the situation. So, you have to check information as much as possible using common sense and experience as final checks to help establish just what's likely to be the truth, or close to it. Just getting the news is only half the job. A correspondent may be well-informed, but his job is to inform other people, the public. So once the information is available it has to be written in an interesting way which is also easily understood. Particularly for radio, since, while a newspaper reader can turn back and re-read a sentence or two, the radio listener has only one chance. This also means that only a limited number of facts can be contained in a sentence, that there should be an element of repetition. And vital information necessary to understand the latest development should be presented at the start of a report—in case the producer of a news program decides to shorten an item, by cutting for example the last sentence or two. Finally, the style of presentation must match the subject matter. A cheerful voice might be perfect for a royal wedding. But it would be sadly out of place for a report of a plane crash. And this would also confuse and distract the listener, probably making it difficult to understand just what had happened and to whom. What will authorities do if they want to tell the world some good news? [解析] 讲座提到如果当局想要告诉全世界好消息,他们一般会发布公告和召开新闻发布会(issue statements and call press conferences),D项复现录音原词,为正确答案。A项“他们保持沉默”和B项“他们会展开讨论”没有在讲座中提到。C项“他们会保密”利用keep secret作干扰,该词出现在讲座开头对新闻的解释中,新闻可能是当局想让你们知道的事,也可能是他们想保密的事(keep secret),与题目无关。
2.
A.To inform other people.
B.To check the information.
C.To make speeches.
D.To call press conference.
A B C D
A
[听力原文] What is a correspondent's main job? [解析] 讲座中间提到记者的工作一方面是获得消息,另一方面是将消息告知他人和公众,故A项“告知他人”正确。B项“核查信息”是在收集信息时需要做的,但不是记者最主要的工作。C项“发表演说”和D项“召开新闻发布会”是当局发布新闻时所采取的措施,与题目所问“记者的主要工作”不符,故排除。
3.
A.The common sense.
B.The subject matter.
C.The start of the report.
D.The understanding of listeners.
A B C D
B
[听力原文] What does the style of presentation have to match? [解析] 讲座最后提到新闻展现的风格需与新闻主题匹配,故B项“新闻主题”为正确答案。讲座提到处理信息时要尽量利用常识和经验去辨别真伪,A项利用原词common sense作干扰,与题目不符。C项“报道的开头”有在录音中提到,但这是在说重要信息的写作方法,与题目无关。D项“听众的理解”在讲座末尾提到,但这是在解释新闻展示的风格若与主题不搭,则很可能造成听众理解困难。
A.Every culture has the same rules for what is appropriate.
B.It is traditional to give lucky money to young, single people.
C.An action can have opposite meanings in different cultures.
D.Giving gifts to the youth is regarded as a universal custom.
A B C D
C
[听力原文] Good afternoon, class. I want to start my lecture by telling you a story. Once there was a young woman from Mexico named Consuela, who came to New York to learn English. She got a job at a factory owned by a Chinese. One day as Consuela came to work, her Chinese boss handed her a red envelope. Consuela looked inside and saw 20 dollars. She became very upset and threw the envelope back at her boss! Her boss was shocked. Well, he had given her the red envelope and the money because it was Chinese New Year. And on the Chinese New Year, it is traditional to give money to young, single people for good luck. However, from Consuela's point of view, he was an older man giving her money in an envelope, which meant that he was asking her for sexual favors. Now, what does this story show us? It shows that an action can have totally opposite meanings in different cultures. Every culture has its own rules for what is appropriate and what is not appropriate behavior. And to illustrate my point today, I'm going to give examples from four areas. OK, let's start with greeting customs. First of all, I'm sure you know that in the United States and in most western countries, greetings often involve some sort of touching, such as a handshake, a hug, or a kiss if people know each other very well. On the other hand, people from most Asian countries don't usually feel as comfortable touching in public. Now, another behavior that differs from culture to culture is the use of names. Have you noticed that Americans are quick to use people's first names even if they have just met. For instance, visitors to the United States are always surprised to hear employees speak to their bosses using first names. Now I want to look at eating customs. It's important to be aware of different dining customs. In some cultures, eating everything on your plate is considered impolite. In Egypt and China, you should leave some food in your dish at the end of the meal. This is to show that your hosts were generous and gave you more than enough to eat. However, Americans generally consider a clean plate as a sign of satisfaction with the food. Finally, what I want to mention today is gift giving, which you may think is a universal custom and there is not much variation from culture to culture. However, never give yellow flowers to people from Iran, which means you hate them! What can we learn from the lecturer's introductory story? [解析] 讲座先以一个故事引入,该故事提到中国老板给墨西哥女员工一个有20块钱的红包,但女孩拒绝接受,因为她把红包理解成了另外的含义。主讲人因此得出结论:相同的行为在不同文化里可能会有相反的含义,故C项为正确答案。A项“每种文化对于合理的习俗有相同的规则”与故事的宗旨矛盾。B项“给单身的年轻人红包是一种传统习俗”是中国春节的习俗,但这不是故事想要说明的道理。D项“给年轻人礼物是一种普遍做法”没有在讲座中提到。
5.
A.Touching.
B.Talking.
C.Smiling.
D.Gift giving.
A B C D
A
[听力原文] What is often involved in greetings in most western countries? [解析] 讲座中间讲到在美国和西方国家,见面打招呼都会有一些身体的接触,因此A项“接触”为正确答案。B 项“聊天”、C项“微笑”和D项“送礼”都不是“西方国家见面打招呼的习俗”,故排除。
6.
A.A plate with water.
B.A plate with food.
C.A dirty plate.
D.A clean plate.
A B C D
D
[听力原文] What is regarded as a sign of satisfaction with the food for Americans? [解析] 选项均涉及盘子,预测题目应该跟餐饮有关。讲座最后聊到餐饮习俗:与埃及和中国不同,美国人认为你把盘里的食物吃光了意味着很满意,因此D项“空的盘子”为正确答案。A项“有水的盘子”和C项“脏的盘子”均未在讲座中提及。B项“有食物的盘子”是埃及和中国的餐饮习俗。
D.Networks are not as valuable as the people you see.
A B C D
B
[听力原文] Today let's talk about social networking. First let's talk about networks. Networks get things done. Whether it's sending a letter or lighting your home. Networks make it happen. To get from Chicago to Santa Fe, we need to see the network of roads that will get us there. We see that Chicago is connected to St Louis, which is connected to Dallas which is connected to Santa Fe. Of course, people networks can help us with finding jobs, meeting new friends, and finding partners. You know how it works. Bob is your friend, he knows Sally, and Sally's friend Joe has a job for you. This is a network of people—a social network. The problem with social networks in the real world is that most of the connections between people are hidden. Your network may have huge potential, but it's only as valuable as the people and connections that you can see. This problem is being solved by a type of website called a social networking site. These websites help you see connections that are hidden in the real world. Here's how it works. You sign up for a free account and fill out your profile. Then, you look for people you know. When you find someone, you click a button that says, "Add as Friend". Once you do this, you and that person have a connection on the website that others can see. They are a member of your network, and you are a member of theirs. What's really cool is that you can see who your friends know, and who your friends' friends know. You're no longer a stranger, so you can contact them more easily. This solves a real world problem because your network has hidden opportunities. Social networking sites make these connections between people visible. Like a map for a highway, they can show you the people network that can help you get to your next destination, whether it's a job, a new partner, or a great place to live. Your network is suddenly more useful. You can get started at these sites, LinkedIn, Facebook, and MySpace. What is the problem with social networks in the real world? [解析] 录音提到,在现实世界的人际关系网络存在一个问题,就是大多数人与人之间的联系是隐蔽的(hidden)。因此B项“大多数人与人之间的联系是不可见的”为正确答案。录音提到,你的人际关系网络可能有巨大的潜力,但只有当你看得到人际网络里的人或人际联系,它才会变得有价值,因此A项“这些人际关系网络没有巨大潜力”和D项“人际网络不如你见到的人那么有价值”都不正确。人际网络可以帮助我们找工作,认识新朋友和寻找伴侣,人们能知道它如何起作用,C项“人们不清楚人际关系网络如何起作用”与录音相反。
8.
A.They enable you to add people you know as friends.
B.They offer you a place to build up your account and profile.
C.They make the hidden connections visible to you.
D.They provide a place for you to contact your friend's friend.
A B C D
C
[听力原文] How can the social networking sites solve the problem of social networks? [解析] 录音提到,由于出现了一种社交网站,人际关系网络的问题(大多数人与人之间的联系是隐蔽的)能得到解决。这些社交网站可以帮助你看清现实世界隐藏的那些人际联系(help you see connections that ale hidden in the real world)。因此C项“它们使那些隐藏的人际联系变得可见”为正确答案。A项“让你添加认识的人为朋友”和B项“为你提供一个地方创建你的账号和填写个人资料”是社交网站提供的一些功能,不是解决人际关系网络问题的方法,不正确。社交网络可以为你提供的是朋友的朋友的联系方式,而不是D项所说的“为你提供一个地方联系你朋友的朋友”。
9.
A.They make it easier to keep in touch with your friends.
B.Your friend becomes a member in the network.
C.A map for a highway is available on the sites.
D.You can see who your friends' friends know.
A B C D
D
[听力原文] What is cool about the social networking websites? [解析] 录音提到,在使用社交网站的时候,很棒的(cool)一件事是你可以看到你的朋友们认识谁,还有你的朋友的朋友认识谁。因此D项“你可以看到你朋友的朋友认识的人”为正确答案。A项“使你能够更容易与朋友联系”和B项“你的朋友成为你的人际关系网络的一员”是社交网站带来的便利和结果,并不是录音提及社交网络最棒(cool)的地方,因此都不正确。C项利用录音最后的a map for a highway作干扰,原文是将社交网络比作“高速公路的地图”,而不是说在“社交网上找到高速公路地图”。
Part Ⅲ Reading Comprehension
Section A Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once. Last month, 25 people died and 130 were injured in a train crash near Los Angeles. The cause was a cell phone. In three hours of work before the crash, one of the engineers received 28 text messages and sent 29 more. He sent his last message 22 seconds before impact, just after passing a signal that would have alerted him to the disaster ahead. Scientists call this 1 "inattention blindness". The mind, captured by the world inside the phone, becomes blind to the world outside it. Millions of people move among us in this half-absent state. 2 , they're living in another world. In many ways, mobile phones are wonderful. Through the phone, you can 3 the confines of your environment. The problem is that physically, you're still living in that environment. Like other creatures, you've evolved to function in the natural world, one setting at a time. Nature has never tested a species' ability to function in two worlds at once. So how is this multitasking experiment going? Not so well. In the nationwide survey, 45 percent of Americans said they've been hit or nearly hit by a driver on a cell phone. Studies show that the more tasks you dump on drivers, the worse they 4 . Our performance on the two-worlds test, like all 5 experiments, can be measured in death. The Federal Railroad Administration reports seven cell-phone-related railway accidents in the last three years, five of them fatal. Today, we're so 6 to mobile devices that we rely on them even to translate the physical world. Misled by with Global Positioning System devices, people are driving cars into rivers, trees, and sand piles. Twice this year in Bedford Hills, N. Y. , drivers have caused train crashes by steering onto the track because their GPS mistook it for a road. Warning signs, pavement markings, and 7 train-signal masts failed to stop them. They trusted the dashboard (仪表盘), not the 8 . If we don't want this two-worlds experiment to be regulated nature's way, then we'd better regulate it ourselves. Here are a few 9 rules of the road. Multitasking is a glorious gift. We can't ban it, nor should we. Want to phone your spouse or your office while walking? Fine. The only life at stake is yours. Want to turn on your car radio or music player? Fine. Listening is easier than talking, and you can mentally or 10 shut it off when necessary. Want to chat with your passenger? Fine again. Studies indicate that passenger conversations are less distracting than phone calls, apparently because you're sharing the same environment. A. reflective B. evolutionary C. accident D. phenomenon E. physically F. confront G. escape H. assure I. mentally J. windshield K. perform L. primarily M. addicted N. compartment O. proposed
Section B Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.
Helicopter Moms vs. Free-Range Kids
[A] Would you let your fourth-grader ride public transportation without an adult? Probably not. Still, when Lenore Skenazy, a columnist for the New York Sun, wrote about letting her son take the subway alone to get back to her Manhattan home from a department store on the Upper East Side, she didn't expect to get hit with wave of criticism from readers. [B] "Long story short: My son got home, overjoyed with independence," Skenazy wrote on April 4 in the New York Sun. "Long story longer: Half the people I've told this episode to now want to turn me in for child abuse. As if keeping kids under lock and key and cell phone and careful watch is the right way to rear kids. It's not. It's debilitating (使虚弱)— for us and for them." [C] Online message boards were soon full of people both applauding and condemning Skenazy's decision to let her son go it alone. She wound up defending herself on CNN (accompanied by her son) and on popular blogs like the Huffington Post, where her follow-up piece was ironically headlined "More From America's Worst Morn." [D] The episode has ignited another one of those debates that divides parents into vocal opposing camps. Are Modern parents needlessly overprotective, or is the world a more complicated and dangerous place than it was when previous generations were allowed to wander about unsupervised? [E] From the "she's an irresponsible mother" camp came: "Shame on you for being so careless about his safety," in comments on the Huffington Post. And there was this from a mother of four: "How would you have felt if he didn't come home?" But Skenazy got a lot of support, too, with women and men writing in with stories about how they were allowed to take trips all by themselves at seven or eight. She also got heaps of praise for bucking the "helicopter parent" trend: "Good for this Mom," one commenter wrote on the Huffington Post. "This is a much-needed reality check." [F] Last week, encouraged by all the attention, Skenazy started her own blog—Free Range, kids—promoting the idea that modern children need some of the same independence that her generation had. In the good old days nine-year-old baby boomers rode their bikes to school, walked to the store, took buses—and even subways—all by themselves. Her blog, she says, is dedicated to sensible parenting. "At Free Range Kids, we believe in safe kids. We believe in car seats and safety belts. We do NOT believe that every time school-age children go outside, they need a security guard." [G] So why are some parents so nervous about letting their children out of their sight? Are cities and towns less safe and kids more vulnerable to crimes like child kidnap and sexual abuse than they were in previous generations? [H] Not exactly. New York City, for instance, is safer than it's ever been; it's ranked 36th in crime among all American cities. Nationwide, stringer kidnaps are extremely rare; there's a one-in-a-million chance a child will be taken by a stranger, according to the Justice Department. And 90 percent of sexual abuse cases are committed by someone the child knows. Mortality rates from all causes, including disease and accidents, for American children are lower now than they were 25 years' ago. According to Child Trends, a nonprofit research group, between 1980 and 2003 death rates dropped by 44 percent for children aged 5 to 14 and 32 percent for teens aged 15 to 19. [I] Then there's the whole question of whether modern parents are more watchful and nervous about safety than previous generations. Yes, some are. Part of the problem is that with wall-to-wall Internet and cable news, every missing child case gets so much airtime that it's not surprising even normal parental anxiety can be amplified. And many middle-class parents have gotten used to managing their children's time and shuttling them to various enriching activities, so the idea of letting them out on their own can seem like a risk. Back in 1972, when many of today's parents were kids, 87 percent of children who lived within a mile of school walked or biked every day. But today, the Centers for Disease Control report that only 13 percent of children bike, walk or otherwise get themselves to school. [J] The extra supervision is both a city and a suburb phenomenon. Parents are worried about crime, and they are worried about kids getting caught in traffic in a city that's not used to pedestrians. On the other hand, there are still plenty of kids whose parents give them a lot of independence, by choice or by necessity. The After School Alliance finds that more than 14 million kids aged 5 to 17 are responsible for taking care of themselves after school. Only 6.5 million kids participate in organized programs. "Many children who have working parents have to take the subway or bus to get to school. Many do this by themselves because they have no other way to get to the schools," says Dr. Richard Gallagher, director of the Parenting Institute at the New York University Child Study Center. [K] For those parents who wonder how and when they should start allowing their kids more freedom, there's no clear-cut answer. Child experts discourage a one-size-fits-all approach to parenting. What's right for Skenazy's nine-year-old could be inappropriate for another one. It all depends on developmental issue, maturity, and the psychological and emotional makeup of that child. Several factors must be taken into account, says Gallagher. "The ability to follow parent guidelines, the child's level of comfort in handling such situations, and a child's general judgment should be weighed." [L] Gallagher agrees with Skenazy that many nine-year-olds are ready for independence like taking public transportation alone. "At certain times of the day, on certain routes, the subways are generally safe for these children, especially if they have grown up in the city and have been taught how to be safe, how to obtain help if they are concerned for their safety, and how to avoid unsafe situations by being watchful and on their toes." [M] But even with more traffic and fewer sidewalks, modern parents do have one advantage their parents didn't: the cell phone. Being able to check in with a child anytime goes a long way toward relieving parental anxiety and may help parents loosen their control a little sooner. Skenazy got a lot of criticism because she didn't give her kid her cell phone because she thought he'd lose it and wanted him to learn to go it alone without depending on mom—a major principle of free-range parenting. But most parents are more than happy to use cell phones to keep track of their kids. [N] And for those who like the idea of free-range kids but still struggle with their inner helicopter parent, there may be a middle way. A new generation of GPS cell phones with tracking software make it easier than ever to follow a child's every movement via the Internet—without seeming to interfere or hover. Of course, when they go to college, they might start objecting to being monitored as they're on parole (保释).
1. One of the reasons that some parents today tend to be more protective is because of the intensified news coverage about crimes related to kids.
I
2. Lenore Skenazy's son was very excited about his journey home alone but half of the people who heard about his journey would accuse his mother for child abuse.
B
3. Many kids with working parents have to take public transportation alone to get to school.
J
4. Lenore Skenazy advocates that young children need to be as independent as their parents were.
F
5. Lenore Skenazy's practice of letting her young son get home alone has met both approval and disapproval online.
C
6. Cell phones can relieve parental anxiety when they decide to leave their kids alone.
M
7. Because of the individual differences in every kid, there is no standard answer to when parents should give their kids more freedom.
K
8. Statistics show that kids are safer in many respects now than a generation ago.
H
9. Parents are divided over the debate on whether parents today being overprotective or the world today being too dangerous.
D
10. Cell phones with GPS make it easier for parents to keep an eye on their kids without intervention.
N
Section C Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
Passage One What if we could read the mind of a terrorist? Researchers at Northwestern University in Chicago say they have taken a step closer to that reality with a test that could uncover evil plans by measuring brain waves. In a study published in the journal Psychophysiology, psychologists John Meixner and Peter Rosenfeld used electrodes (电极) to measure the brain waves of 29 undergraduates who had been told to mock-plan either a terrorist bombing in Houston in July, or a vacation in a different city in a different month. The researchers then presented the students with the names of various cities, methods of terrorist attack and dates. As they did so, they scanned the subjects' brains. They watched for a particular brainwave—dubbed the P300, because it fires every 300 milliseconds—which signals recognition of something familiar. "The P300's amplitude (振幅) is very large when you see an object that is rare and personally meaningful to you," Meixner says. "So the amplitude of P300 was large when we presented the word 'Houston', the city where the attack was planned. In total we were able to identify 10 out of 12 'terrorists'". The investigators also correctly matched 20 out of 30 crime-related details, such as types of explosives and specific sites and dates. The P300's potential as a method for confirming concealed information was first recognized in the 1980s. But while it has long been touted as a possible substitute for the polygraph test, it has yet not been used by law enforcement anywhere in the world. One of the reasons is that it becomes difficult to use if investigators do not know the information they are trying to confirm. For instance, in Meixner and Rosenfeld's study, the researchers would have struggled had they not known that the city in which the attack was planned was Houston, since it would be only by luck or guesswork they would have included it in the sample list of names. What's more, the P300 is vulnerable to what scientists call "confounding factors". For instance, if the mock-terrorists in the study were raised in Houston, which was also the location of the attack, the researchers would not know for sure what was causing the P300 spike. But Meixner and Rosenfeld say that despite these shortfalls, the technology holds more potential than the polygraph. The polygraph measures responses like respiration and sweating, which can certainly be triggered by a lie, but can also result from any high-stress situation—including the mere experience of being interrogated by a police officer. While there is nothing that can correct this problem with polygraphs, P300s can at least be made more accurate by increasing the number of details you show a suspect.
1. What can we learn about the P300 from the research by John Meixner and Peter Rosenfeld?______
A.It is related to a person's reaction to stimulus.
B.It is widely used in polygraph tests.
C.It fires when an insignificant stimulus is given.
D.It is 100 percent accurate in the laboratory.
A B C D
A
[解析] 根据题干中的P300和John Meixner and Peter Rosenfeld定位到第二段最后一句。 推理判断题。第二段介绍两位心理学家通过对29名大学生脑电波的扫描确认了很多犯罪细节。由定位句可知,通过观察P300这种脑电波,他们发现受试者认出了某种熟悉的东西。由此推断,P300是人脑对外界刺激的一种反应。因此,答案为A。 [参考译文] 如果我们能读懂恐怖分子的想法,将会怎样?芝加哥西北大学的研究人员表示,他们已经向这一想法走近了一步。他们做了一个实验,通过分析脑电波揭露人心中的邪恶计划。 在发表于《心理生理学》杂志的一份研究报告中,心理学家约翰·梅克斯纳和皮特·罗森菲尔德使用电极来测量29名大学生的脑电波,他们要求这些大学生在心中模拟策划7月份在休斯敦进行恐怖爆炸袭击,或是另一个月份在其他城市的一个度假。然后研究者让这些学生看写有不同城市的名字、袭击方式和袭击时间的资料。在学生浏览资料的同时,研究人员扫描他们的大脑。他们观察一种叫P300的特殊脑电波,P300有此名称是因为它每300毫秒发射一次,发射这种脑电波表明人辨认出某种熟悉的东西。 梅克斯纳说:“当你看到一种罕见但对自己有某种意义的事物时,P300的振幅会很大。因此,当我们展示模拟袭击的地点‘休斯敦’这个词时,他们脑中的P300振幅就很大。通过这种方式,我们在12名‘恐怖分子’中总共辨认出10名。”研究人员还准确匹配了30个与犯罪相关的细节中的20个,如爆炸方式、具体地点和时间。 早在20世纪80年代,P300被第一次确认为找出隐藏信息的一种潜在方式。然而,尽管人们一直认为可以用它来代替测谎试验,但世界上还没有哪个国家将之作为正式的执法工具。原因之一是如果调查人员不知道他们要努力确认哪些信息,他们就难以利用这一技术。例如:在梅克斯纳和罗森菲尔德的研究中,如果研究人员事先不知道策划袭击的城市是休斯敦,他们将会很被动,因为那就只能靠运气或者瞎猜从样本城市中选定袭击城市了。 此外,P300很容易受被科学家称为“混淆因素”的影响。例如:在前面的实验中,假如受试者成长于休斯敦,也就是袭击地点,那么研究人员就很难确定其P300振幅增大的原因了。 不过,梅克斯纳和罗森菲尔德说,尽管这项技术有不少缺点,它仍然比测谎仪更有发展潜力。测谎仪测的是呼吸和出汗等反应,虽然说这些反应确定会在说谎时被引起,但任何高度紧张的情形,包括仅仅是被警察盘问这件事,都可能引发这些反应。测谎仪的这一问题是无法解决的,但对于P300来说,只要增加出示给嫌疑人的细节的数量,测试结果就会更加准确。
2. Why has the P300 not been used by law enforcement in even one country?______
A.Because it has not proved to be a reliable way of getting information.
B.Because information to be confirmed should be exact.
C.Because suspects' relatives need to be involved in the process.
D.Because the technology is too sophisticated to be put into practice.
Passage Two Officials at the White House announced a new space policy focused on managing the increasing number of satellites that companies and governments arc launching into space. Space Policy Directive-3 lays out general guidelines for the United States to mitigate (缓解) the effects of space debris and track and manage traffic in space. This policy sets the stage for the Department of Commerce to take over the management of traffic in space. The department will make sure that newly launched satellites don't use radio frequencies that would interfere with existing satellites, and schedule when such new satellites can be launched. This only applies to American space activities, but the hope is that it will help standardize a set of norms in the dawning commercial spaceflight industry throughout the world. Space, especially the space directly around our planet, is getting more crowded as more governments and companies launch satellites. One impetus for the policy is that companies are already starting to build massive constellations (星座), comprising hundreds or thousands of satellites with many moving parts among them. With so much stuff in space, and a limited area around our planet, the government wants to reduce the chances of a collision. Two or more satellites slamming into each other could create many more out-of-control bits that would pose even more hazards to the growing collection of satellites in space. And it's not like this hasn't happened before. In 2009 an old Russian craft slammed into a communications satellite, creating a cloud of hundreds of pieces of debris and putting other hardware at risk. Journalist Sarah Scoles reports that NASA currently tracks about 24,000 objects in space, and in 2016 the Air Force had to issue 3,995,874 warnings to satellite owners alerting them to a potential nearby threat from another satellite or bit of debris. That's why this new policy also includes directions to update the current U.S. Government Orbital Debris Mitigation Standard Practices, which already require any entity that launches a satellite or spacecraft to vigorously analyze the likelihood that any of their actions, from an unexpected failure or normal operations, will create more space debris. It includes accounting for any piece of debris they plan to release over 5mm that might stay in orbit for 25 years or more. It might seem surprising to think about an item staying in space for that long, but the oldest satellite still in orbit—Vanguard 1—turned 60 in 2018. Agencies and companies throughout the world are working on developing technology that would dispose of or capture space debris before it causes serious damage. But for now, the U.S. government is more focused on preventing new debris from forming than taking the trash out of orbit.
1. What is the purpose of the new U.S. space policy?______
A.To lay out general guidelines for space exploration.
B.To encourage companies to join in space programs.
C.To make the best use of satellites in space.
D.To improve traffic conditions in space.
A B C D
D
[解析] 本文选自2018年6月25日刊登在www.popsci.com网站上一篇标题为“The White House is Calling for Space Traffic Control”(《美国白宫要求对太空交通进行管制》)的文章。
由题干中的purpose和the new U.S. space policy定位到文章第一段最后一句。 推理判断题。定位句指出,《太空政策指令-3》为美国制定了一个总方针来缓解太空碎片的影响,追踪和管理太空交通。接下来的第二段第一句提到,这一政策为美国商务部接手太空交通管理奠定了基础。因此,答案为D“改善太空的交通状况”。 第二段最后一句提到,此政策仅涉及美国的太空活动,但美国政府希望这将有助于使全球范围内正在兴起的商用航天工业的一套规范标准化,而不是为太空探索制定方针,故排除A“为太空探索制定总方针”;第一段第一句提到,企业和政府发射卫星到太空,企业参与太空项目是已经存在的客观事实,而不是新政策的目的,故排除B“鼓励企业参与太空项目”;第一段第一句提到,该政策专注于管理企业和政府发射到太空的越来越多的卫星,而不是要充分利用卫星,故排除C“充分利用太空卫星”。 [参考译文] 美国白宫官员宣布了一项新的太空政策,该政策专注于管理企业和政府发射到太空的越来越多的卫星。《太空政策指令-3》为美国制定了缓解太空碎片的影响,追踪和管理太空交通的总方针。 这一政策为美国商务部接手太空交通管理奠定了基础。商务部需确保新发射的卫星不使用金王扰现有卫星的无线电频率,并统筹安排何时发送这些新卫星。此政策仅涉及美国太空活动,但美国政府希望这将有助于给全球范围内正在兴起的商用航天工业树立一套标准化的规范。 随着越来越多的政府和企业发射卫星,太空,尤其是地球周围的空间正变得更加拥挤。推动这项政策出台的原因之一就是有些企业已经开始创造大规模的星座,这些星座由成百上千颗卫星组成,它们中间还存在着许多不确定因素。太空中有这么多物体,而地球周围的区域又有限,政府希望减少碰撞发生的几率。两个或多个卫星相互碰撞可能会产生许多人类无法控制的残骸物质,这将对太空中不断增加的卫星造成更多威胁。 此类事件以前已经发生过。2009年,一颗已经报废的俄罗斯航天器和一颗通信卫星相撞,产生了由上千块碎片组成的云团并对其他航天器造成了威胁。记者萨拉·斯科尔斯报道,美国国家航空航天局目前已经在太空中追踪到大约24,000个物体。2016年,美国空军不得不向卫星所有者发出3,995,874次警告,提醒他们注意来自附近另一个卫星或残骸的潜在威胁。 这就是为什么新政策还包括了对目前《美国政府轨道碎片减缓标准操作规程》进行更新的指导意见,这就要求任何发射卫星或航天器的机构都要努力分析他们会不会因意外故障或正常操作而产生更多的太空碎片。其中包括对他们计划释放的任何超过5毫米的碎片负责,这些碎片可能在轨道上停留25年或更长时间。一个物体在太空中停留那么长的时间,想起来挺令人惊讶的,但仍在轨道上的最古老的一颗卫星——先锋一号——到2018年已经滞留60年了。 全世界的机构和企业都在努力发展能够在太空碎片造成严重破坏之前对其进行处理或搜集的技术。但目前,美国政府的焦点更多地集中在防止新的碎片产生,而不是将太空垃圾从轨道上清除。
2. What is the Department of Commerce expected to do under the new policy?______
A.Reduce debris in space.
B.Monitor satellite operations.
C.Regulate the launching of new satelites.
D.Update satellite communications technology.
A B C D
C
[解析] 由题干中的the Department of Commerce定位到文章第二段第一、二句。 细节辨认题。定位句指出,这一政策为美国商务部接手太空交通管理奠定了基础。商务部需确保新发射的卫星不使用会干扰现有卫星的无线电频率,并安排何时发送这些新卫星。C项中的Regulate对应第二段第二句中的make sure和schedule,故C“管理新卫星的发射”为答案。 文章多处都提到了太空碎片问题,但并未提及这是商务部的任务,故排除A“减少太空碎片”;第四段第三句提到,美国国家航空航天局目前已经在太空中追踪到大约24,000个物体,但这并不是商务部在监控卫星运行,故排除B“监控卫星运行”;最后一段提到,各机构和企业都在发展能够清除或搜集太空碎片的技术,并未提及卫星通信技术,故排除D“升级卫星通信技术”。
3. What does the U.S. government hope to do with the new space policy?______
A.Set international standards for the space flight industry.
B.Monopolize space industry by developing a set of norms.
C.Facilitate commercial space flights throughout the world.
D.Promote international collaboration in space exploration.
A B C D
A
[解析] 由题干中的U.S. government、hope和the new space policy定位到文章第二段最后一句。 细节辨认题。定位句指出,此政策仅涉及美国的太空活动,但美国政府希望这将有助于使全球范围内正在兴起的商用航天工业的一套规范标准化。A项中的international standards对应定位句中的standardize a set of norms和throughout the world,故A“为航天工业制定国际化标准”为答案。 B项的后半部分developing a set of norms是对的,但前半部分的Monopolize space industry“垄断航天工业”与文章意思不符,故排除B“通过制定一套标准来垄断航天工业”;定位句未提到要促进商用航天业的发展,故排除C“促进全球商用航天工业的发展”;文章未提及国际合作的内容,故排除D“促进空间探索方面的国际合作”。
4. What is a space vehicle launching entity required to do according to the current U.S. Government Orbital Debris Mitigation Standard Practices?______
A.Give an estimate of how long its debris will stay in space.
B.Account for the debris it has released into space at any time.
C.Provide a detailed plan for managing the space debris it creates.
D.Make a thorough analysis of any possible addition to space debris.
A B C D
D
[解析] 由题干中的current U.S. Government Orbital Debris Mitigation Standard Practices定位到文章第五段第一句。 细节辨认题。定位句指出,《美国政府轨道碎片减缓标准操作规程》要求任何发射卫星或航天器的机构都要努力分析他们会不会因意外故障或正常操作而产生更多的太空碎片。D项中的a thorough analysis对应定位句中的vigorously analyze,D项中的any possible addition to space debris对应likelihood和create mote space debris,故D“对任何可能增加的太空碎片进行彻底的分析”为答案。 文章第五段倒数第二句提到,其中包括对他们计划释放的任何超过5毫米的碎片负责,这些碎片可能在轨道上停留25年或更长时间,卫星所有者必须对其负责,而不是让他们预估卫星在太空中停留的时间,故排除A“预估碎片在太空中停留的时间”;B“对任何时候释放到太空的碎片负责”夸大了范围,故排除;文章第五段提到,发射航天器的机构需要做的事情是对其行为产生太空碎片的可能性进行分析,并对一定的情况负责,并未提到提供管理计划,故排除C“对其产生的太空碎片提供详细的管理计划”。
5. What are space agencies and companies aiming to do at present?______
A.Recycle used space vehicles before they turn into debris.
B.Develop technology to address the space debris problem.
C.Limit the amount of debris entering space.
D.Cooperate closely to retrieve space debris.
A B C D
B
[解析] 由题干中的space agencies and companies定位到文章最后一段第一句。 细节辨认题。定位句指出,全世界的机构和企业都在努力发展能够在太空碎片造成严重破坏之前对其进行处理或搜集的技术。B项中的address the space debris problem对应定位句中的dispose of or capture space debris,故B“发展技术来解决太空碎片问题”为答案。 A“在航天器变成碎片前对其进行回收利用”偷换定位句概念,故排除;根据文章最后一句,是美国政府把焦点更多地集中在防止新的碎片产生上,而不是全世界的机构和企业,故排除C“控制进人太空的碎片数量”;定位句提到,各机构和企业都在努力发展搜集太空碎片的技术,但并未提到他们要紧密合作,故排除D“密切合作以找回太空碎片”。
Part Ⅳ Translation Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to translate a passage from Chinese into English. You should write your answer on Answer Sheet 2.
An aging society refers to a population structure model in which aging population reaches or exceeds a certain proportion. The region is regarded as entering an aging society according to the UN's traditional standard that an area's old people over 60 take up 10% of the total population, while the new standard is old people over 65 take up 7 % of the total population. The acceleration of aging will bring enormous pressure to both economy and society. On October 26, 2009 when the Double Ninth Festival, the traditional Chinese festival, came, China formally launched a strategic research on coping with aging of population to deal with increasingly intensifying population aging crisis.