1. Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled "Decline in Morals". You should write at least 150 words but no more than 200 words.
[范文]
Decline in Morals
In modern society, the decline in morals is becoming more and more severe. For example, there have been a few cases in which a senior woman pretended to have fallen over and then blackmailed the person who tried to help her. There was also another case where a little girl was hit by a car and no passers-by gave her a hand. To solve this problem, we need first to find out the reasons. For one, the fast pace of modern society is driving people apart from each other, thus people are losing the patience to care for others. For another, with technology developing, it's much easier for people to know what is happening in the world today. In order to draw people's attention, some media would lay stress on negative news and overemphasize the negative effects. To reestablish social morals, we must work together. People should learn to care for the others, while the media should treat negative news more properly.
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. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.
B.A newcomer of a company and a personnel in charge of human resources.
C.A boss and a prospective client.
D.The managers of two business partners.
A B C D
B
[听力原文] M: Welcome aboard! Now that you have become one of the staff in our company, let me show you around and get you informed of your working environment and your responsibilities. W: Thank you, Mr. Will. M: When people come in, you should greet them and ask them whom they are looking for and bring them to the wanted person if he or she is ready. W: But what if the person they want to see is not available? M: In that case, you should make it clear if the wanted one is absent temporarily or for a rather long time,and you can advise the visitor to wait or to have the meeting next time. Don't forget to show them where to sit and then offer them coffee or tea, OK? W: Fine, I got it. M: Here is the fax machine. When the fax comes in, you have to take it to the right department or office. We still use faxes a lot for that's a very important means to get documents and forms from our clients. W: Sure, no problem. M: Besides, you have to answer the phone. Telephone manners are an important skill you've got to learn. W: I'll get to know them as quickly as possible. But may I ask a question? What are my working hours? M: Your working hours are nine to five. You have an hour for lunch. W: Great!
What is the probable relationship between the speakers?
[听力原文]
W: Good evening, David, I'm so glad to have you here.
M: It's my pleasure. Thank you for inviting me on the show.
W: OK, David, let's first talk about the character you played in The X-Files. The character, whose name is Mulder, is supposed to be a believer. He deals with those unbelievable, wild and often disastrous events.
M: That's true.
W: From what I have read, I know that starting from your childhood, you were always a smart boy, went to the best private school, and were accepted at most of the Ivy League colleges. It's even more surprising when you, who were on your way to a doctorate at Yale, took a few acting classes and got beaten by the book.
M: You bet. My mother was really surprised when I decided to give up all that in order to become an actor.
W: Sure. But talking about Mulder, do you believe at all in real life, the aliens, people from outer space, you know, UFOs, all the things that the TV series deal with?
M: I think they are real. They must be.
W: Are you dark and moody in real life just like Fox Mulder?
M: I think so. I think what they wanted was somebody who could be this hearted, driven person, but also appear normal.
W: Your father and mother divorced when you were eleven. Does that have effect on your life?
M: Yeah, I think that the only way to think of it is that, you know, people are saying "your wound is your goal", you know, "wherever you're hurt, that's where you'll become stronger. " So, that's what it's really about. . .
W: OK. It's time for a short break. We'll be back in a minute.
What do we know about Mulder?
[解析] 这个问题的答案可以从女士所说的话中找到。她在介绍David时提到,他在《X档案》中饰演的角色Mulder,Mulder经常处理令人难以置信的、经常是灾难性的事件。因此,选项D为正确答案。
6.
A.He went to the best public school as a smart boy.
B.He had studied acting for many years since college.
C.His decision was beyond his mother's expectation.
D.He lived in a happy family with his parents.
A B C D
C
[听力原文]
What do we know about David?
[解析] 这个问题的答案可以从女士与男士的谈话中找到。女士说,据她了解,男士从小就是一个非常聪明的孩子,去了最好的私立学校,被常春藤盟校录取。在他即将考取耶鲁大学博士学位的时候,他选修了一些表演课程,进而迷上了这本书。男士接着说,当他决定要成为一名演员而放弃一切的时候,他的母亲非常震惊。因此,选项C为正确答案。
7.
A.8
B.9
C.10
D.11
A B C D
D
[听力原文]
How old was David when his parents divorced?
[解析] 对话中借助女士的话提到Your father and mother divorced when you were eleven. 由此可知大卫父母离婚时他是11岁,故答案为D。
8.
A.You will become stronger wherever you are hurt.
B.Your goal is to make yourself wounded.
C.Your goal is to hurt others if you are wounded.
D.You will become stronger if you hurt others.
A B C D
A
[听力原文]
What's the meaning of "your wound is your goal"?
[解析] 这个问题的答案可以从对话的最后找到。当主持人问及他父母的离婚是否对他有影响的时候,他回答说“你受伤的地方就是你要战胜的目标”,也就是“哪里受伤,就要在哪里变得更加坚强。”因此,选项A为正确答案。
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. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.
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?
[解析] 录音提到两次实验相似,只是第二次实验黄色的立方体小了些,即size有了变化,所以B正确。“立方体的形状”、“盒子的重量”录音没有提到,排除A、D;两次实验都是重复了6次,所以C“实验过程中重复的次数”也排除。
2.
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?
[解析] 录音提到,男婴对立方体的大小不同没有做出反应,而女婴则立即兴奋起来,科学家们把女婴的兴奋情绪解释为她们试图弄明白所看到的东西,换句话说,女婴们在思考,故C正确。A、D录音没有提到男婴有这些特点;录音提到女婴看到立方体的变化而兴奋,但这是实验过程中观察到的现象,并非说话者想表达的内容,故排除B。
3.
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?
[解析] 录音提到,实验提供了一个线索,使科学家们想进行更为仔细的研究,B“它可能会激励科学家们做进一步研究”与此相符。A、C是利用录音中的nerve development和talk at an earlier age等信息设置无关干扰。D“实验的发现与之前的研究相反”,录音中没有提及之前的研究。语义“转折处”常考。
4.
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?
[解析] 录音结尾提到,科学家们也发现女孩子似乎天生还有一个优势,那就是她们比男孩子们更早学会说话,故D正确。录音提到,女孩的左半脑发育得比男孩快,所以语言能力强,并没有说女孩的两侧大脑同时发育,所以A错;文章没有提到适应环境的问题,B错;录音说女孩的骨骼发育更快,并没有说女孩的骨骼成熟更早,所以排除C。
[听力原文] As every schoolboy knows, the important raw materials of industry are coal, oil and iron. However, as every businessman knows, the most important raw material of all is the schoolboy who, as a trained college graduate, will run the US industry of the future. Today the US industry is faced with a tight shrinkage of such manpower. It needs not only more but better trained college graduates. To help get them, many businessmen believe that corporations must provide much of the cash needed by colleges to expand their facilities and improve their teaching, and work more closely with colleges on business needs. Thus, industry and education have a clear mutuality of interests. Businessmen and educators have not always recognized this. While there are a few businessmen who still regard college professors as vague minded and likely to be radicals, and a few educators who still look on businessmen as mere money grabbers, the mutual distrust has generally disappeared in the mutual need. The rapidly expanding US economy has made college graduates more important than ever to industry In turn, universities must depend increasingly on corporations for contributions, since high taxes have all but cut off the flow of the big individual contributions that built the private school.
What are the most important raw materials to businessmen?
6.
A.Provide the cash needed by college presidents.
B.Work more closely with colleges on capital shortage.
C.Finance colleges to expand their facilities and improve their teaching.
D.Eliminate those vague-minded and radical professors.
A B C D
C
[听力原文] What should industrial corporations do to get the manpower they need according to many businessmen?
7.
A.Industry and education have a clear mutuality of interests.
B.Businessmen and educators have a harmonious friendship.
C.Industry and training are inseparable.
D.Universities make great contributions to the industry.
A B C D
A
[听力原文] What is the main point of this passage?
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. Then mark the corresponding letter on answer Sheet 1 with a single line through the centre.
A.It may result in a rise in the rates of infectious diseases.
B.It may give rise to a breakdown in sanitation.
C.It may lead to decreases in agricultural productivity.
D.It may bring about immediate increases in hospital admissions.
A B C D
C
[听力原文] The impact of climate change is so great that it could undermine the last 50 years of gains in global health, according to the Lancet Commission report. Weather extremes made worse by climate change are potentially catastrophic and unacceptable, says Commission's project leader Nicolas Watts, who spoke to VOA. "In terms of drought, we often see corresponding decreases in agricultural productivity, which then in turn has a profound impact on malnutrition, particularly for children, and with floods we often see a rise in the rates of infectious diseases and other diseases that happen as a result of a breakdown in sanitation." And increasingly, it's just hotter, which can be deadly. An extreme heat wave in 2003 left 70,000 people dead across Europe. "And those sorts of events are expected to increase in intensity and severity as time goes on." The World Health Organization warns that unless dramatic action is taken to reduce global warming emissions by 2030, approximately 250,000 people will die each year from the effects of climate change. Outdoor air pollution is linked to some three million deaths worldwide. Watts says a shift from coal-fired power plants to renewable energy can greatly reduce that danger. "We see immediate declines in hospital admissions and in health care costs, which reduces the burden of already struggling health budgets. There are many other ways for us to do something to protect the environment. For example, you can decrease the reliance on cars and motor vehicles, and try to encourage active transport like cycling and walking. You can even decrease the rates of diabetes and obesity while protecting the environment." In order to reduce the effects of climate change on global health, the Commission makes recommendations, including a phase-out of coal power plants, expansion of renewable energy, investment in health systems and a commitment to a strong global climate treaty. Watts says public health is at the core of a new global agreement. "Most of what you want to do to respond to climate change is good for public health, and it is actually a much brighter future." Watts says health care professionals can be advocates in the battle against climate change. He also says what is good for the planet is good for patient care.
According to Nicolas Watts, what impact can drought have?
[听力原文] Many people who drink alcohol also like to smoke cigarettes. Drinking and smoking seem to be closely linked. Some people might even say they go together hand-in-hand. But this may be more than just a mixing of two fairly common activities. New research has looked more closely at the relationship between cigarettes and alcohol. And the relationship is one of equal dependence. Smoking and drinking seem to feed on each other. These are the exact words of Mahesh Thakkar. He is head of research in the Department of Neurology at the University of Missouri's School of Medicine. Thakkar explains that when a person drinks alcohol they get sleepy. He says a drug in cigarettes fights that sleepy feeling. That drug, nicotine, can be addictive; smokers need more cigarettes because of their body's growing dependence on the drug. So, if a person smokes, then he or she is much more likely to drink alcohol, and vice versa. Thakkar says, "They feed off one another." Researchers already knew that people who use alcohol often smoke. In fact, earlier research shows that more than 85 percent of alcohol-dependent American adults also depend on nicotine. Thakkar's earlier research showed that nicotine combined with alcohol stimulates what he calls the "reward center" of the brain. However, the new study shows a dependent relationship between the substances. Thakkar says his team "found that nicotine weakens" the sleep-causing effects of alcohol. It does this by activating an area of the brain called the basal forebrain. According to the Psychology Definition website, that area is responsible for memory, learning and attention. For this new experiment, Thakkar and his team used equipment that measures brain activity in rats. They injected the rats with both nicotine and alcohol, and then studied brain activity in the animals as they slept. The researchers found that nicotine goes through the basal forebrain and cancels out the sleep-causing effects of alcohol. So, why is this new research important? The World Health Organization says 7 million people die every year from alcohol and nicotine use. Mahesh Thakker and his team identified why alcohol use and smoking are often linked. He says this knowledge may help people break their addictions to alcohol and nicotine. The researchers published their findings in the Journal of Neurochemistry.
What is the relationship between smoking and drinking?
[解析] 选项都以They开头,都是讲相互关系的陈述句,预测问题与两种事物的关系有关。录音说抽烟与喝酒相互依赖相互促进(feed on each other),D项为原文原词的复现,是正确答案。录音提到很多喜欢喝酒的人也喜欢抽烟,但并不是抽烟和喝酒被同一群人喜欢,A项错误。这也不能说明B项“它们总是同时进行”。有些人甚至说它们紧密相关(go together hand-in-hand),但并不是说它们不能分开,C项过度推断。
D.Smartphones were replacing the traditional computers.
A B C D
B
[听力原文] More and more people around the world are using wireless or mobile devices. In some countries, smartphones and other mobile devices serve as replacements for the traditional desktop computer. This increase in mobile device usage has also led to the growth of the mobile gaming industry. Experts say the industry will be worth more than $11 billion this year. Early computers were too slow to process the amount of data needed for realistic pictures, sound and special effects. But processor soon became faster and less costly. Manufacturers saw there was money to be made, so they developed machines designed only for games. Now, smartphones and other mobile devices have created new ways to play games. Large companies compete in an expanding gaming market. Garners and game developers recently showed and tested their products at the Electronic Entertainment Exhibition in Los Angeles, California. The event is called F3 for short. Gaming industry leaders like Xbox and PlayStation demonstrated new products at E3. Famous Americans like comedian Conan O'Brien attended the event. App Annie based in San Francisco, California is a mobile gaming market research company. App Annie's Marcos Sanchez says companies that develop games for mobile devices are making huge profits. Yoshio Osaki is the top vice president of the International Development Group. The official says new companies are doing very well with all the different ways to provide people with games. The video games are not just about the console anymore. And you see a lot of cross-pollination and hybridization across Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, EA, and Activation etc. Many of the gaming companies depend on loyal garners for fresh ideas. And age is unimportant to some companies. Michael Sayman is a 17-year-old Facebook employee. He spoke recently with Voice of America's Spanish service about some of his Facebook responsibilities. "I will be working on a system called Parse, which is part of Facebook and works with many applications, and they all connect together through what Facebook does and what the company within Facebook. Parse also does." Sayman said. Parse software is designed to help others develop even more applications for mobile devices. Why did manufacturers develop machines designed only for games?
8.
A.It is beneficial.
B.It is profitable.
C.It is complicated.
D.It is demanding.
A B C D
B
[听力原文] How is the business of developing games for mobile devices?
9.
A.By recruiting young employees from them.
B.By strengthening cooperation with them.
C.By getting fresh ideas from them.
D.By developing more applications for them.
A B C D
C
[听力原文] How do gaming companies benefit from loyal garners?
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. When we visit another country, differences in music and dance are probably some of the first things that we notice. Every culture has developed its own types of music and dance, and they are often very different from the music and dance of other societies. Each type of music usually has a distinctive rhythm and a special sound, 1 on the kinds of instruments that are used to produce it. The most common type of instruments are string instruments, such as guitars and violins; wind instruments, including horns and flutes; and percussion instruments, such as drums, cymbals and pianos. Many different kinds of musical sounds can be 2 by using different combination of instruments. The human voice is a very special kind of instrument, 3 it can produce a great number of different sounds with different volumes ranging from loud to soft. Singing is very popular in most cultures because it allows us to express words and ideas with music. Societies coordinate body movements with musical rhythms to make 4 Sometimes people dance 5 fun and individual expression. Dances can also be used to communicate 6 to an audience. Hawaiian dancers, for example, use arm and hand movements to express the meaning of a song. In the same way, many societies use dances for religious ceremonies 7 to tell about important events. Music and dance are passed from one 8 to another and thus become a per manent part of the society and its culture. Of course, as cultures come into contact with each other, the music and dance of one society may be 9 by other societies, or the different styles may be combined to form a new kind of music, for example, Latin American music has taken 10 from Indian cultures and mixed them with features from European and African cultures. Similarly, popular music from England and the United States can be heard in countries all over the world, where it has had an influence on musical tastes, especially among young people. A. or I. dances B. some J. accepted C. band K. cord D. since L. for E. generation M. features F. established N. depending G. created O. idea H. almost
[解析] 从句子后半部分中的mixed them with feature from European and African cultures可知,空格所在部分的结构此比相同,因此空格中的词与features from European and African cultures(欧洲和非洲文化的特色)是同类但不相同的东西,即features from Indian cultures“印第安文化的特色”。因此,features是正确答案。
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.
Plastic Surgery
A better credit card is the solution to ever larger hack attacks
A. A thin magnetic stripe (magstripe) is all that stands between your credit-card information and the bad guys. And they've been working hard to break in. That's why 2014 is shaping up as a major showdown: Banks, law enforcement and technology companies are all trying to stop a network of hackers who are succeeding in stealing account numbers, names, email addresses and other crucial data used in identity theft. More than 100 million accounts at Target, Neiman Marcus and Michaels stores were affected in some way during the most recent attacks, starting last November. B. Swipe (刷卡) is the operative word: Cards are increasingly vulnerable to attacks when you make purchases in a store. In several recent incidents, hackers have been able to obtain massive information of credit-, debit-(借记) or prepaid-card numbers using malware, i.e. malicious software, inserted secretly into the retailers' point-of-sale system—the checkout registers. Hackers then sold the data to a second group of criminals operating in shadowy comers of the web. Not long after, the stolen data was showing up on fake cards and being used for online purchases. C. The solution could cost as little as $2 extra for every piece of plastic issued. The fix is a security technology used heavily outside the U.S. While American credit cards use the 40-year-old magstripe technology to process transactions, much of the rest of the world uses smarter cards with a technology called EMV (short for Europay, MasterCard, Visa) that employs a chip embedded in the card plus a customer PIN (personal identification number) to authenticate (验证) every transaction on the spot. If a purchaser fails to punch in the correct PIN at the checkout, the transaction gets rejected. (Online purchases can be made by setting up a separate transaction code.) D. Why haven't big banks adopted the more secure technology? When it comes to mailing out new credit cards, it's all about relative costs, says David Robertson, who runs the Nilson Report, an industry newsletter: "The cost of the card, putting the sticker on it, coding the account number and expiration date, embossing (凸印) it, the small envelope—all put together, you're in the dollar range." A chip-and-PIN card currently costs closer to $3, says Robertson, because of the price of chips. (Once large issuers convert together, the chip costs should drop.) E. Multiply $3 by the more than 5 billion magstripe credit and prepaid cards in circulation in the U.S. Then consider that there's an estimated $12.4 billion in card fraud on a global basis, says Robertson. With 44% of that in the U.S., American credit-card fraud amounts to about $5.5 billion annually. Card issuers have so far calculated that absorbing the liability for even big hacks like the Target one is still cheaper than replacing all that plastic. F. That leaves American retailers pretty much alone the world over in relying on magstripe technology to charge purchases—and leaves consumers vulnerable. Each magstripe has three tracks of information, explains payments security expert Jeremy Gumbley, the chief technology officer of CreditCall, an electronic-payments company. The first and third are used by the bank or card issuer. Your vital account information lives on the second track, which hackers try to capture. "Malware is scanning through the memory in real time and looking for data," he says. "It creates a text file that gets stolen." G. Chip-and-PIN cards, by contrast, make fake cards or skimming impossible because the information that gets scanned is encrypted (加密). The historical reason the U.S. has stuck with magstripe, ironically enough, is once superior technology. Our cheap, ultra-reliable wired networks made credit-card authentication over the phone frictionless. In France, card companies created EMV in part because the telephone monopoly was so maddeningly inefficient and expensive. The EMV solution allowed transactions to be verified locally and securely. H. Some big banks, like Wells Fargo, are now offering to convert your magstripe card to a chip-and-PIN model. (It's actually a hybrid (混合体) that will still have a magstripe, since most U.S. merchants don't have EMV terminals.) Should you take them up on it? If you travel internationally, the answer is yes. I. Keep in mind, too, that credit cards typically have better liability protection than debit cards. If someone uses your credit card fraudulently (欺诈性地), it's the issuer or merchant, not you, that takes the hit. Debit cards have different liability limits depending on the bank and the events surrounding any fraud. "If it's available, the logical thing is to get a chip-and-PIN card from your bank," says Eric Adamowsky, a co-founder of CreditCardInsider.com. "I would use credit cards over debit cards because of liability issues." Cash still works pretty well too. J. Retailers and banks stand to benefit from the lower fraud levels of chip-and-PIN cards but have been reluctant for years to invest in the new infrastructure (基础设施) needed for the technology, especially if consumers don't have access to it. It's a chicken-and-egg problem: no one wants to spend the money on upgraded point-of-sale systems that can read the chip cards if shoppers aren't carrying them—yet there's little point in consumers' carrying the fancy plastic if stores aren't equipped to use them. (An earlier effort by Target to move to chip and PIN never gained progress.) According to Gumbley, there's a "you-first mentality. The logjam (僵局) has to be broken." K. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon recently expressed his willingness to do so, noting that banks and merchants have spent the past decade suing each other over interchange fees—the percentage of the transaction price they keep—rather than deal with the growing hacking problem. Chase offers a chip-enabled card under its own brand and several others for travel-related companies such as British Airways and Ritz-Carlton. L. The Target and Neiman hacks have also changed the cost calculation: Although retailers have been reluctant to spend the $6.75 billion that Capgemini consultants estimate it will take to convert all their registers to be chip-and-PIN-compatible, the potential liability they now face is dramatically greater. Target has been hit with class actions from hacked consumers. "It's the ultimate nightmare," a retail executive from a well-known chain admitted to TIME. M. The card-payment companies MasterCard and Visa are pushing hard for change. The two firms have warned all parties in the transaction chain—merchant, network, bank—that if they don't become EMV-compliant by October 2015, the party that is least compliant will bear the fraud risk. N. In the meantime, app-equipped smartphones and digital wallets—all of which can use EMV technology—are beginning to make inroads (侵袭) on cards and cash. PayPal, for instance, is testing an app that lets you use your mobile phone to pay on the fly at local merchants—without surrendering any card information to them. And further down the road is biometric authentication, which could be encrypted with, say, a fingerprint. O. Credit and debit cards, though, are going to be with us for the foreseeable future, and so are hackers, if we stick with magstripe technology. "It seems crazy to me," says Gumbley, who is English, "that a cutting-edge-technology country is depending on a 40-year-old technology." That's why it may be up to consumers to move the needle on chip and PIN, Says Robertson: "When you get the consumer into a position of worry and inconvenience, that's where the rubber hits the road."
1. It is best to use an EMV card for international travel.
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 How we look and how we appear to others probably worries us more when we are in our teens or early twenties than at any other time in our life. Few of us are content to accept ourselves as we are, and few are brave enough to ignore the trends of fashion. Most fashion magazines or TV advertisements try to persuade us that we should dress in a certain way or behave in a certain manner. If we do, they tell us, we will be able to meet new people with con- fidence and deal with every situation confidently and without embarrassment. Changing fashion, of course, does not apply just to dress. A barber today does not cut a boy's hair in the same way as he used to, and girls do not make up in the same way as their mothers and grandmothers did. The advertisers show us the latest fashionable styles and we are constantly under pressure to follow the fashion in case our friends think we are odd or dull. What causes fashion to change? Sometimes convenience or practical necessity or just the fancy of an influential person can establish a fashion. Take hats for example. In cold climate, early buildings were cold inside, so people wore hats indoors as well as outside. In recent times, the late President Kennedy caused a depression in the American hat industry by not wearing hats. More American men have followed his example. There is also a cyclical pattern in fashion. In the 1920s in Europe and America, short skirts became fashionable. After World War Two, they dropped to ankle length. Then they got shorter and shorter until the miniskirt was in fashion. After a few more years, skirts became longer again. Today, society is much freer and easier than it used to be. It is no longer necessary to dress like ev- eryone else. Within reason, you can dress as you like or do your hair the way you like instead of the way you should because it is the fashion. The popularity of jeans and the "untidy" look seems to be a reaction against the increasingly expensive fashions of the top fashion houses. At the same time, appearance is still important in certain circumstances and then we must choose our clothes carefully. It would be foolish to go to an interview for a job in a law firm wearing jeans and a sweater, and it would be discourteous to visit some distinguished scholar looking as if we were going to the beach or a nightclub. However, you need never feel depressed if you don't look like the latest fashion photo. Look around you and you'll see that no one else does either.
1. Fashion magazines and TV advertisements seem to link fashion to ______.
A.confidence in life
B.social relationship
C.success in career
D.personal future
A B C D
A
[解析] 根据题干的Fashion magazines and TV advertisements定位于第2段。
第2段第2句中的they指的就是首句中提到的杂志和电视广告,第2句中的confidence和confidently都表明这些广告把人的自信与时装联系起来,因此选项A为本题答案。
干扰项排除:选项B只是第2段第2句中的every situation其中一部分,以偏概全;该句并未讨论有关career(事业)的细节,因此可以排除选项C;选项D同样所指范围过大,原文的着重点是“自信”,而并非“个人前途”。
[参考译文]
我们十多岁到二十岁出头时比一生中其他任何时候都更在意我们在别人眼里的形象。没有几个人对自己的形象感到满意,也没几个人勇敢地置时尚潮流于不顾。
大部分时尚杂志或电视广告都试图让我们相信,我们应该穿成什么样子或举手投足应该是什么姿态。它们告诉我们,如果我们照做,就可以自信地面对不认识的人,踌躇满志、从容自如地应对一切场合。当然,时尚的变化不只限于服饰。现在的理发师不像过去那样给男孩子理发,女孩子也不像她们的妈妈和外婆过去那样化妆。广告人向我们展示最新的时尚,我们时时感到紧跟潮流的压力,生怕朋友们嫌我们怪异、乏味。
是什么在推动时尚变化呢?有时为了省事、或出于实际需要、或仅仅因为喜欢某个知名人物都可以引发新的时尚。就拿帽子来说吧,在气候寒冷的地区,早期的建筑内部都很寒冷,因此人们在室内像在室外一样戴帽子。而后来,已故总统肯尼迪从不戴帽子,使美国制帽业很不景气。因为大多数美国男士都效仿肯尼迪总统。
时尚周期性地循环出现。20世纪20年代,欧洲和美洲流行短裙。第二次世界大战后,裙子长及脚踝;然后变得越来越短,而后迷你裙风行了起来。几年后,裙子又变长了。 现有的社会比过去更自由、更宽容了,人们不必再像其他人一样穿着。只要合理,你可以按自己的喜好穿衣,留你喜欢的发型,而不必受时尚的摆布。牛仔服和“邋遢”的外表之所以流行,似乎是对顶级时装店时尚服饰越来越昂贵所做出的反应。
同时,在某些场合外表仍然很重要,这时我们必须谨慎地选择服饰。穿着牛仔服、运动衫去律师事务所参加求职面试会显得很愚蠢,去拜访某位知名学者时穿得像去海边或夜总会也会有失礼节。但是,你不必自己看起来不像最新的时尚照片而感到沮丧。看看你周围,你会发现,别人也跟你一样!
2. Kennedy's example is used to illustrate ______.
Passage Two Let's face it—there are lots of reasons to hate McDonald's: calories, cholesterol and, for me at least, that sickening feeling after munching (大口咀嚼) on McNuggets. Then there's always that kid at the drive-through who forgets the ketchup (番茄酱). Well, add one more reason to spite McDonald's: as the global economy spirals downward, McDonald's is minting money. "In the worst of times for the restaurant industry, it's the best of times for McDonald's," says Butt Flickinger Ⅲ, managing director of the Strategic Resources Group, a retail-consulting company. In fact, the company's sales have increased for 55 straight months. Profits grew 11%, to $1.2 billion. The pricing of McDonald's, highlighted by dollar-menu items like apple pies, side salads and yogurt, plus cheap combo meals is a key strength during the recession. In particular, consumers are fleeing casual, family chain restaurants for the convenience and savings of fast food. The economy is not the only reason people are drawn to McDonald's. The company's management also deserves credit for its success. Back seven years ago, America's obesity (肥胖) epidemic was a hot topic, and McDonald's suffered from the strong negative reaction. Stale food and tired stores also kept people away. "McDonald's was actively persuading customers from coming back," says John Glass, a Morgan Stanley analyst. Since that time, McDonald's have remodeled 11,000 stores. At a neat and clean restaurant in the Bronx one weekday evening, Brian Waters, a mailman, sat with his 9-year-old son in a booth. The bright dining area featured abstract paintings of New York City's bridges and the Statue of Liberty. "It used to be dark and dull in here," Waters says. "Now it's nice and clean. I don't mind sitting here anymore." Stores have also extended hours: 34% of the company's 14,000 U.S. restaurants are now open 24/7. The menu got an upgrade too. Obscene "super-size" choices were phased out, and healthier options like apples and salads were added. The company changed its coffee blend; coffee sales have soared 70% over the past two years. Chicken McNuggets now consist solely of white meat, which has less fat and fewer calories than the darker-meat mix of old. Like any other business in this environment, McDonald's faces some potential roadblocks. As the recession wears on, fast-food-service growth may flatten out; plus, McDonald's can expect more price competition. For example, Steak'n Shake, the diner-style burger chain in 21 states throughout the Midwest and South, is promoting four different meal combos for less than $4. "In Los Angeles, every other billboard is a 99-cent food price," says Glass. The battle for bargain-hunting eaters is on. But given its recent winning ways, McDonald's might just add a few more billion served.
1. One of the reasons why the author hates McDonald's is that ______.
A.there are always kids messing around in the restaurant
B.some salesclerk always forgets to give him the ketchup
C.children always leave the ketchup at the drive-through
D.the salesclerk always forget to clean up the drive-through
2. What is the key for McDonald's success even during the global economic downturn? ______
A.Its pricing policy.
B.Its managing policy.
C.Its dollar-menu items.
D.Its cheap combo meals.
A B C D
A
[解析] 第3段第1句。 通过分析,该句的主干为The pricing of McDonald's... is a key strength...选项A与此同义,故为本题答案。 B与第4段第2句提到的内容相近,但要注意的是,本题要求查找的是“关键”的因素,而根据第4段第2句,麦当劳的管理方针只是其成功的因素之一,但并不是“关键”因素,因此B不符合题意要求;C和D都从属于A的内容。
3. What happened to McDonald's seven years ago, according to John Glass? ______
4. In what way does Steak'n Shake constitute the greatest challenge to McDonald's? ______
A.It sells fast food in diner style.
B.It has chain stores in 21 states.
C.It sells cheap meal combos for less than $4.
D.It is the second fastest growing food service.
A B C D
C
[解析] 最后一段第3句。 该句开头的For example表明作者提到Steak'n Shake是为了说明前一句提到的McDonald's can expect more price competition的观点的,由此可见,Steak'n Shake在价格方面的策略对麦当劳形成最大的挑战。因此,本题应选C。 A和B都是最后一段第3句提到的内容,但这些都与“价格”关系不大,因此,它们不如C适合。D中的second fastest growing没有原文依据。
5. When the battle for bargain-hunting eaters is on, the author expects that McDonald's will most probably ______.
A.increase its management expenses
B.open more chain restaurants
C.have to cut its prices sharply
D.gain more customers
A B C D
D
[解析] 最后一句。 最后一句句末的过去分词served表明a few more billion是McDonald's的服务对象,即作者认为McDonald's还是能迎来更多的顾客。因此,本题应选D。 A中的increase和B中的more都是针对最后一句的add... more的词义造出来干扰项,与原文的served不能对应:作者没有表明麦当劳会大幅度降价,C没有依据。
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.
Peking Opera, as the national opera of China, has a history of more than 200 years. Compared with other Chinese local operas, Peking Opera enjoys a higher reputation①; but actually it absorbed many elements of other local operas. The facial make-up and costumes② of the performers are usually very delicate; by contrast③, the backdrops④ are quite plain. During performance, the performers mainly utilize four skills: song, speech, dance and combat. Peking Opera is relatively better at exhibiting historical themes like political and military struggles. In ancient times, Peking Opera was mostly performed in the open air⑤, so the performers developed a piercing style of song⑥ that could be heard by everyone.
[解析]
1. 享有更高的声誉:可译为enjoy a higher reputation。
2. 戏服:即costume,这个词也指人们在万圣节进行表演时所穿的服装。
3. 相比之下:可译为短语by contrast。这类表示逻辑关系的词易成为采分点,注意不要遗漏。
4. 舞台的布景:译为backdrop最为贴切,如果不知道这个词,用background也可。
5. 在户外:一般译为in the open air,也可译为outdoors。
6. 形成:此处指人获得一项技能,所以最好用develop来表达,而不用shape或form。“有穿透力的”即piercing。“唱腔”乍一看可能不太好翻译,其实该词就是指“唱的风格”,所以可意译为style of song。