Part Ⅰ Writing Directions:For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic: Ability and Good Looks. You should write at least 150 words following the outline given below:
An Eye-witness Account of a Traffic Accident Yesterday afternoon, I happened to witness a terrible traffic accident on my way home from school. It was 5:30 p. m., I was riding my favorite Giant back home. When I got to the last crossing on the Golden Lion Street, the red light was on. So I applied the brakes, along with a long queue of vehicles waiting to pass. Just at that moment, a heavy-load truck with earth roared forward at my side and bumped against a private Accord of Honda traveling eastbound. As a result, the windshield of the lorry was broken into pieces and its driver got fatally wounded on the head on the steering wheel. The driver of the Accord and his girlfriend, the only passenger in the car, only got minor injuries, but his car lost its rear axel and two wheels. As for the cause of the accident, I think the driver of the lorry should be responsible: the light was red then; he should have stopped and waited. It was he who had broken the traffic regulations. In addition, the bad weather was part of the cause. It was drizzling then, and the road was quite slippery. Finally, drunk driving was probably an important factor. As the police discovered on the spot, there was a heavy alcoholic smell on the dead body of the lorry driver.
Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) Directions:In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1-4, mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N (for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage. For questions 5-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage. The Next Society The new economy may or may not materialize, but there is no doubt that the next society will be with us shortly. In the developed world, and probably in the emerging countries as well, this new society will be a good deal more important than the new economy (if any). It will be quite different from the society of the late 20th century, and also different from what most people expect. Much of it will be unprecedented. And most of it is already here, or is rapidly emerging. In the developed countries, the dominant factor in the next society will be something to which most people are only just beginning to pay attention: the rapid growth in the older population and the rapid shrinking of the younger generation. Politicians everywhere still promise to save the existing pension system, but they--and their constituents--know perfectly well that in another 25 years people will have to keep working until their mid-70s, health permitting. What has not yet sunk in is that a growing number of older people--say those over 50--will not keep on working as traditional full time nine-to-five employees, but will participate in the labor force in many new and different ways: as temporaries, as part-timers, as consultants on special assignments, and so on. What used to be personnel and are now known as human resources departments still assume that those who work for an organization are full-time employees. Employment laws and regulations are based on the same assumption. Within 20 or 25 years, however, perhaps as many as half the people who work for an organization will not be employed by it, certainly not on a full-time basis. This will be especially true for older people. New ways of working with people at arm's length will increasingly become the central managerial issue of employing organizations, and not just of businesses. The shrinking of the younger population will cause an even greater upheaval, if only because nothing like this has happened since the dying centuries of the Roman Empire. In every single developed country, but also in China and Brazil, the birth rate is now well below the replacement rate of 2.2 live births per woman of reproductive age. Politically, this means that immigration will become an important and highly divisive issue in all rich countries. It will cut across all traditional political alignments. Economically, the decline in the young population will change markets in fundamental ways. Growth in family formation has been the driving force of all domestic markets in the developed world, but the rate of family formation is certain to fall steadily unless bolstered by large-scale immigration of younger people. The homogeneous mass market that emerged in all rich countries after the Second World War has been youth-determined from the start. It will now become middle-age-determined, or perhaps more likely it will split into two: a middle-age-determined mass market and a much smaller youth-determined one. And because the supply of young people will shrink, creating new employment patterns to attract and hold the growing number of older people (especially older educated people) will become increasingly important. Knowledge is all The next society will be a knowledge society. Knowledge will be its key resource, and knowledge workers will be the dominant group in its workforce. Its three main characteristics will be: · Borderlessness, because knowledge travels even more effortlessly than money. · Upward mobility, available to everyone through easily acquired formal education. · The potential for failure as well as success. Anyone can acquire the "means of production", i. e, the knowledge required for the job, but not everyone can win. Together, those three characteristics will make the knowledge society a highly competitive one, for organizations and individuals alike. Information technology, although only one of many new features of the next society, is already having one hugely important effect: it is allowing knowledge to spread near-instantly, and making it accessible to everyone. Given the ease and speed at which information travels, every institution in the knowledge society--not only businesses, but also schools, universities, hospitals and increasingly government agencies too-- has to be globally competitive, even though most organizations will continue to be local in their activities and in their markets. This is because the Internet will keep customers everywhere informed on what is available anywhere in the world, and at what price. This new knowledge economy will rely heavily on knowledge workers. At present, this term is widely used to describe people with considerable theoretical knowledge and learning: doctors, lawyers, teachers, accountants, chemical engineers. But the most striking growth will be in "knowledge technologists" ~ computer technicians, software designers, analysts in clinical labs, manufacturing technologists, paralegals. These people are as much manual workers as they are knowledge workers; in fact, they usually spend far more time working with their hands than with their brains. But their manual work is based on a substantial amount of theoretical knowledge which can be acquired only through formal education, not through an apprenticeship. They are not, as a rule, much better paid than traditional skilled workers, but they see themselves as "professionals" . Just as unskilled manual workers in manufacturing were the dominant social and political force in the 20th century, knowledge technologists are likely to become the dominant social--and perhaps also political--force over the next decades. The new protectionism Structurally, too, the next society is already diverging from the society almost all of us still live in. The 20th century saw the rapid decline 'of the sector that had dominated society for 10,000 years: agriculture. In volume terms, farm production now is at least four or five times what it was before the First World War. But in 1913 farm products accounted for 70% of world trade, whereas now their share is at most 17%. In the early years of the 20th century, agriculture in most developed countries was the largest single contributor to GDP; now in rich countries its contribution has dwindled to the point of becoming marginal. And the farm population is down to a tiny proportion of the total. Manufacturing has traveled a long way down the same road. Since the Second World War, manufacturing output in the developed world has probably tripled in volume, but inflation adjusted manufacturing prices have fallen steadily, whereas the cost of prime knowledge products-health care and education-has tripled, again adjusted for inflation. The relative purchasing power of manufactured goods against knowledge products is now only one-fifth or one-sixth of what it was 50 years ago. Manufacturing employment in America has fallen from 35% of the workforce in the 1950s to less than half that now, without causing much social disruption. But it may be too much to hope for an equally easy transition in countries such as Japan or Germany, where blue-collar manufacturing workers still make up 25--30% of the labor force. The decline of farming as a producer of wealth and of livelihoods has allowed farm protectionism to spread to a degree that would have been unthinkable before the Second World War. In the same way, the decline of manufacturing will trigger an explosion of manufacturing protectionism-even as lip service continues to be paid to free trade. This protectionism may not necessarily take the form of traditional tariffs, but of subsidies, quotas and regulations of all kinds. Even more likely, regional blocks will emerge that trade freely internally but are highly protectionist externally. The European Union, NAFFA and Mercosur already point in that direction. The future of the corporation Statistically, multinational companies play much the same part in the world economy as they did in 1913. But they have become very different animals. Multinationals in 1913 were domestic firms with subsidiaries abroad, each of them self-contained, in charge of a politically defined territory, and highly autonomous. Multinationals now tend to be organized globally along product or service lines. But like the multinationals of 1913, they are held together and controlled by ownership. By contrast, the multinationals of 2025 are likely to be held together and controlled by strategy. There will still be ownership, of course. But alliances, joint ventures, minority stakes, know-how agreements contracts will increasingly be the building blocks of a confederation. This kind of organization will need a new kind of top management. In most countries, and even in a good many large and complex companies, top management is still seen as an extension of operating management. Tomorrow's top management, however, is likely to be a distinct and separate organ: it will stand for the company. One of the most important jobs ahead for the top management of {he big company of tomorrow, and especially of the multinational, will be to balance the conflicting demands on business being made by the need for both short-term and long-term results, and by the corporation's various constituencies: customers, shareholders, knowledge employees and communities.
1. The new society will be much more important than the new economy only in the developed countries.
10. Top management in the Next society will be a ______ organ.
distinct and separate
[解析] 文章最后一段中提到,将来公司的最高管理机构将会是独立的、分离的机构,它将代表公司。
Part Ⅲ Listening Comprehension
Section A Directions:In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked [A], [B], [C] and [D], and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the center.
C.She wants to wash something away in her stomach.
D.She has a digestion problem.
A B C D
B
[听力原文] M: Honey, you've got to drink lots of water. It will wash away the infection in your eyes. W: I have been doing that all these days and I feel much better. Q: Why does the woman drink so much water?
2.
A.He is seriously ill and still in hospital.
B.Mary will do his work instead.
C.Morrison is his doctor.
D.He will go to work tomorrow.
A B C D
D
[听力原文] M: Hello, Mary, this is Dam Morrison from the office. I'm calling to see how Tom is feeling today. If he is not so well, I may arrange someone else to do his work instead. W: Oh, hello, Mr. Morrison. The doctor said he'd be able to go back to work tomorrow. Q: What can we learn about Tom from the conversation?
3.
A.She is expecting her turn.
B.She has found valuable information.
C.She needs another week to prepare.
D.She has net prepared yet.
A B C D
D
[听力原文] M: How are you going with your English morning report? It is your turn next Monday mornm4g. Usually you do everything very well. so all of us are expecting your presentation. W: I have spent a whole week searching online for the related information but nothing valuable came up. Q: How did the woman go with her morning report?
4.
A.The A41 at the Dome corner has few cars.
B.The A1M near Hatfield, Harrow Road has heavy traffic.
C.The A404, Harrow Road is very busy with many cars.
D.The A1M is now flowing freely without problems.
A B C D
B
[听力原文] M: Before the weather report, could you tell me some road news? W: Yes, well, the A41 is still very busy at the Dome corner this morning. Another traffic jam we have is in the AiM up near Hatfield. Harrow Road. The A404, Harrow Road is now flowing freely, no problems there. Q: What do we learn about the roads from the conversation?
5.
A.It is quite unexpected.
B.She has already got the news.
C.She has confidence in the man.
D.It is not exciting to learn about it.
A B C D
C
[听力原文] M: Susan, I feel so happy now. I've just got the news that I've won the scholarship for the next school year. W: You certainly deserve it Q: What does the woman mean?
6.
A.She should present him a book on music.
B.The teacher has some interests other than reading.
C.It's a good idea because the teacher loves reading.
D.The teacher would like to have a book on language teaching.
A B C D
B
[听力原文] W: Professor Smith has helped me so much that I'm thinking of presenting him a book of poetry. M: I think you'd better get him a music record. Just because he's a language teacher doesn't mean all he does is read. Q: What does the man mean?
7.
A.Clothes.
B.Carpet.
C.Curtain.
D.Flowers.
A B C D
B
[听力原文] M: It's mostly blue and green with a pattern of flowers in the middle. There's a dark green border. W: Yes, it matches the curtains well. We are going to put it down in the sitting room. Q: What are they talking about?
8.
A.The man spent half an hour parking the car.
B.The man asked the woman to wait for him for half an hour to cheek her endurance.
C.The man has driven two blocks before he gave the woman a lift.
D.The man spent half an hour driving two blocks.
A B C D
A
[听力原文] W: I have been waiting here for almost half an hour. why did you take so long to park the car? M: I'm sorry. I have driven two blocks before I spotted a place to park. Q: What do you learn from the conversation?
B.Communication means emails and letters between colleagues.
C.Communication means interactions between people.
D.Communication means understanding between employees and clients.
A B C D
C
[听力原文] 19-21 M: Nowadays, almost all job advertisements call for good communication skills. As a human resource manager, how do you see it? W: It is a term that is used regularly in the workplace. In my opinion, (19) communication means interaction and is vital in business. It ensures smooth operation between staff members, employers and clients. M: Can you explain that more precisely? W: Employers need to use excellent communication skills in order to get the very best out of their employees, while employees need to use communication skills when talking to clients as well as colleagues and employers. M: Do you say communication means talking to others? W: Well, communication doesn't always refer to conversations. M: Like what? W: For instance, (20) written communication. It is very important in business. Mostly, being in the business area, communicating for the first time with someone, for example, a client, is made through e-malls. (20) Thus, writing becomes a way through which you can create a first impression. So your writing skills have to be very good and professional. M: Besides the work communication with business clients, how do you see the interpersonal relationships among colleagues? W: Regardless of how good you are at your job, if you don't form at least basic relationships with those around you, it will ultimately affect your career success. M: What you've mentioned seems to be about the individual but not the organization. W: Not really, the communication between individuals is part of organizational behavior. Actually, some big companies hold social events to encourage good communication between staff members. You know, bad communication leads to misunderstandings. Meanwhile, the employees should be equipped with good communication skills when they talk to clients. (21) To ensure that business continues to grow, a company's clients should undoubtedly trust its employees. This can never be the case if there is any miscommunication. 19.What do we learn about communication?
[听前猜测] 四个选项都是对communication的定义做出分析。推测本题考查的是对communication的定义。 [精解] 细节题。女士的第一句话就说communication means interaction... between staff members, employers and clients,总而言之就是人们之间的交际。故本题答案为C)。
10.
A.It's the most important part of communication.
B.It's the only way to make an employee look professional.
C.It's vital to have good communication between colleagues.
D.It's helpful to make a good impression on clients.
A B C D
D
[听力原文] How does the woman think of a good written communication?
[听前猜测] 四个选项都以It's开头。推测本题考查对某个事物的描述或者看法等。 [精解] 对话中女士在提到written communication时是这么说的:It is very important in business. (书面交流很重要。)第一次与客户打交道基本上是通过电子邮件交流,良好和专业的书面交流技巧能给客户留下好印象。故本题答案为D)。
11.
A.Employees would perform the best if they have good communication with employers.
B.Career success depends on how an employee develops his job skills.
C.Companies hold social events only to help employee build good private relationships.
D.Miscommunication shall affect the growth of a company.
[听力原文] 19-21 W: Hi, Frank. What are you up to? Is that really a French grammar book? M: Well, (19) I'm trying to teach myself some French. When I go to Montreal next semester, I don't want to sound like just another tourist. Most of the people there are bilingual. W: (20) Leave Boston to go to Montreal? I didn't know this university had a program in Canada. M: It doesn't. I'm planning to take a short leave of absence from school, so I can go there on my own. W: What's the reason for this sudden interest in Canada? M: Well, actually I've been thinking about going for some time now. I know someone there who's been wanting me to visit. W: A relative? M: An old friend of my uncle's runs a chemical engineering department there. So, I'm hoping he can help me enroll in some interesting courses. W: (21) If you want those credits transferred back here later on, you'd better arrange for it before you leave. Don't forget what happened to Susan after she came back from Rome. M: Yeah, but her situation was different. I already have all the credits I need to graduate. W: So you'll be taking courses just for the sake of learning. M: That will be a nice change of pace, won't it? 19.What is the man doing at the beginning of the conversation?
Section B Directions:In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear some 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 2 with a single line through the center.
[听力原文]32-35 Robert was so good at his profession that he was able to make his living for 20 years by selling false signatures of famous Americans. Robert was born in England in 1813 and arrived in Philadelphia in 1858 to open a bookstore. At first he succeeded in selling his small but genuine collection of early U.S. autographs. Discovering his ability at copying handwriting, he began imitating signatures of George Washington and Ben Franklin and writing them on the title pages of old books. To lessen the chance of detection, he sent his imitations to England and Canada for sale and circulation. He had a hard time selling his products, because he couldn't approach a respectable buyer but must deal with people who didn't have much knowledge in the field. But Robert had many ways to make his work look real. For example, he bought old books to use aged paper of the title page, and he could treat paper and ink with chemical. In Robert's time, right after the Civil War, Britain was still fond of the southern states, so Robert invented a respectable lady known as Miss Fanny Jackson, the only daughter of General Jackson. For several years Miss Fanny's financial problems forced her to sell a great number of letters and manuscripts belonging to her famous father. Robert had to work very hard to satisfy the demand. Yet all this activity did not prevent Robert from dying in poverty, leaving sharp-eyed experts the difficult task of separating his imitations from the originals. 32. How did Robert make his living during the years in Philadelphia?
D.She was an expert who was good at tell signatures.
A B C D
A
[听力原文] Who was Miss Fanny Jackson?
该题问“谁是Fanny Jackson?”文中原句“so Robert invented a respectable lady known as Miss Fanny Jackson”,所以这个人物是杜撰(invented)的。因此[A]“Robert虚构的人物”是正确答案。
4.
A.Robert was good at writing about famous people.
B.Robert sold his imitation abroad for the consideration of safety.
C.H9 usually sold his products to some respectable buyers.
D.Robert died rich.
A B C D
B
[听力原文] Which of the following statements is true?
该题问“下列哪一说法是正确的?”文中提到“To lessen the chance of detection, he sent his imitations to England and Canada for sale and circulation.”可以看出[B]“为安全起兄Robert将他的赝品到国外”是正确答案。
[听力原文] 29-32 (29)Cancer is the second leading cause of death after heart disease. Death rates for both diseases are falling. But researchers say the rate for heart disease is falling faster. As a result, an American Cancer Society report shows that cancer now kills more Americans under the age of eighty-five than any other cause. Some cancers can be prevented or treated, especially if found early. Cancer is the name for a group of diseases. All involve the uncontrolled growth and spread of cells that are not normal. Cell growth and division are controlled by genes. (30) Some cancers are linked to family genetics. Pollution and chemicals can also raise a person's risk of cancer. The report shows that in recent years, cancer rates in the United States have dropped about one percent per year. Lung, colon, breast and prostate cancer make up more than half of all the cases. For men, prostate cancer is the most common. For women, it is breast cancer. Rates of both have continued to increase, but more slowly than in the past. Smoking causes about one-third of all cancer deaths. Poor diet and a lack of exercise are blamed for another third in the United States. (31) The American Cancer Society says cancer deaths worldwide could increase nearly one hundred percent in the next twenty years. Yet most could be avoided. The report calls tobacco use "the number one cause of cancer and the number one cause of preventable death throughout the world. " Hepatitis and other infections will cause an estimated seventeen percent of new cancers worldwide this year. (32) Such cancers are especially common in developing countries, and many of these cases can also be prevented. 29.What is the first leading cause of death?
[听力原文]32-35 (32)Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, a member of the "Lost Generation", was the most famous chronicler of 1920s America, an era that he called "the Jazz. Age." He finished (33)four novels and wrote dozens of short stories that treat themes of youth and promise along with despair and age. (34) Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896., He did poorly in school and was sent to a boarding school. He then managed to enroll at Princeton in 1913. He never graduated, instead (34)enlisting in the army in 1917,as World War I neared its end. Fitzgerald became a second lieutenant, and was stationed at Camp Sheridan, Alabama. There he met and fell in love with seventeen-year-old Zelda Sayre. Zelda finally agreed to marry him, but her strong desire for wealth led her to delay their wedding until he could prove a success. (35)With the publication of This Side of Paradise in 1920, Fitzgerald became a literary sensation, earning enough money and fame to convince Zelda to marry him. Many of these events from Fitzgerald's early life appear in his most famous novel, The Great Gatsby, published in 1925. Having become a celebrity, Fitzgerald fell into a wild, reckless life-style of parties, while desperately trying to please Zelda by writing to earn money. As the Roaring Twenties dissolved the Great Depression, however, Zelda suffered a nervous breakdown and Fitzgerald battled alcoholism, which influenced his writing. He published Tender Is the Night in 1934, and sold short stories to support his lavish lifestyle. In 1937, he left for Hollywood to write screenplays, and in 1940, while working on his novel The Love of the Last Tycoon, died of a heart attack at the age of forty-four. 32.What did Fitzgerald call the 1920s?
[听前猜测] 四个选项均为描述美国不同时代人物或时代的名词短语,推测提问与美国文化史有关。 [精解] 文章的开头提到Fitzgerald被认为是“迷惘的一代”中的一员,是二十年代美国的年代记录者,而他自己将这个时期称之为“the Jazz Age”,故本题答案为C)。
10.
A.Youth, promise, despair as well as wealth.
B.Youth, love, promise as well as despair.
C.Youth, love, promise as well as wealth.
D.Youth, promise, despair as well as age.
A B C D
D
[听力原文] What are the themes of Fitzgerald's short stories?
[听力原文] When did Fitzgerald and Zelda hold their wedding?
[听前猜测] 根据四个选项均出现的关键词after推测本题提问时间。 [精解] 文章中提到Fitzgerald参军后,在Camp Sheridan,Alabama遇到了Zelda并坠入爱河,但Zelda贪图享乐,爱慕虚荣,虽然答应结婚但一再推迟婚期,直到Fitzgerald于1920年出版了他的第一部小说This Side of Paradise并成为名人。故本题答案为B)。
Section C Directions:In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have just heard. For blanks numbered from 44 to 46 you are required to fill in the missing information. For these blanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or write down the main points in your own words. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written. Dogs were first domesticated from wolves at least 17,000 years ago, but perhaps as early as 150,000 years ago based upon recent genetic fossil and DNA evidence. In this time, the dog has developed into hundreds of breeds with a great degree of 1 . For example, heights at the 2 range from just a few inches to roughly three feet, and colors range from white to black, with reds, grays, and browns 3 in tremendous patterns. Dogs are highly social animals and this similarity in their 4 behavioral system accounts for their trainability, playfulness, and ability to fit into human 5 and social situations. This has earned dogs a unique position in the 6 of interspecies relationships. The loyalty and 7 that dogs demonstrate as a part of their natural instincts are 8 to be reflections of the human idea of love and friendship, leading many dog owners to view their pets as full-fledged family members. 9 . Dogs play a variety of roles in society and are often trained as working dogs. 10 . In many countries, the most common and perhaps most important role of dogs is as a companion. 11 .
Dogs were first domesticated from wolves at least 17,000 years ago, but perhaps as early as 150,000 years ago based upon recent genetic fossil and DNA evidence. In this time, the dog has developed into hundreds of breeds with a great degree of variation. For example, heights at the shoulder range from just a few inches to roughly three feet, and colors range from white to black, with reds, grays, and browns occurring in tremendous patterns. Dogs are highly social animals and this similarity in their overall behavioral system accounts for their trainability, playfulness, and ability to fit into human households and social situations. This has earned dogs a unique position in the realm of interspecies relationships. The loyalty and devotion that dogs demonstrate as a part of their natural instincts are thought to be reflections of the human idea of love and friendship, leading many dog owners to view their pets as full-fledged family members. Dogs seem to view their human companions as members of their pack, and make few distinctions between their owners and fellow dogs. Dogs play a variety of roles in society and are often trained as working dogs. For dogs that do not have traditional jobs, a wide range of dog sports provide the opportunity to exhibit their natural dog skills. In many countries, the most common and perhaps most important role of dogs is as a companion. Dogs have lived with and worked with humans in so many roles that their loyalty has earned them the unique praise of man's best friend.
[解析] 由空前的of可推测,所填词应是名词。variation在此意为“差别,区别”。
2.
shoulder
[解析] 空前的定冠词the提示所填词应为名词。shoulder在此意为“肩膀”。
3.
occurring
[解析] 由空前的with和空后的in可推测,所填词可能是分词形式的动词。
4.
overall
[解析] 由空前的their和空后的behavioral system可推测,所填词应是形容词。
5.
households
[解析] 由空前的human和空后的and social situations可推测,所填词应是名词。household在此意为“家庭”。
Dogs seem to view their human companions as members of their pack, and make few distinctions between their owners and fellow dogs
[Main Points] Dogs seem to see their human companions as members of their pack, and make few distinctions between their owners and fellow dogs
10.
For dogs that do not have traditional jobs, a wide range of dog sports provide the opportunity to exhibit their natural dog skills
[Main Points] For dogs that do not have traditional jobs, a wide range of dog sports offer the chance to show their natural dog skills
11.
Dogs have lived with and worked with humans in so many roles that their loyalty has earned them the unique praise of man's best friend
[Main Points] Dogs have lived with and worked with people in so many roles that their loyalty earn them the unique praise of man's best friend
Part Ⅳ Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth)
Section A Directions:In this section, there is a short passage with 5 questions or incomplete statements. Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words on Answer Sheet 2. Shopper 46 is making a decision. Stopwatch in hand, I observe her from behind a cereal display. Shopper 46 has been contemplating bananas for four minutes and 43 seconds. Finally, she moves to place one with minimal brown spots in her cart, changes her mind and quickly de posits the unfit specimen back onto the pile of fruit. Shopper 46 exits the produce department with a bargain tub of banana pudding instead. Working as a consumer behavior researcher since last summer for Brian Wansink, director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab, I have observed thousands of supermarket patrons on the spot from Whole Foods to Safeway. In this economy, people are increasingly trying to save money by eating in. As Americans make the transition from restaurant tables to supermarket aisles, they are making mistakes that translate into unnecessary expenses at the checkout lane. Grocery. shopping might seem like an ordinary, mechanical activity, but look around next time you're in the store: Despite our best intentions, we buy food impulsively and irrationally. We go to the supermarket resolved to watch our pennies and choose healthful foods. But we become lost when we're confronted with thousands of products and brands. So we end up spending $3.49 on an accidental bag of Doritos, $1.99 on M&M's. And besides the calories, these wasted dollars add up fast. You might think that browsing slowly through the store would help you pick out the best products. But our research shows that's not the case. The shoppers I studied who took the longest, examining packages, stopping at whatever caught their eye, invariably spent more money. They tumbled stray, often unhealthy, items into their baskets, and later, when questioned, couldn't cite a reason for the purchases. It turns out that making up a precise list beforehand and getting the errand done as quickly as possible is the best way to save money. Cutting time cuts costs, as well. Bananas? Check. Special on Kozy Shack banana pudding? If it wasn't marked on your grocery list, control your instincts and move on quickly.
1. At last, shopper 46 bought a bargain tub of banana pudding instead of
4. There is a misconception among consumers that, if they want to pick out tile best products, they should _______.
browse slowly through the store
[定位] 第5段。 [解析] 第5段的might think 和not the case表明that引导的宾语从句的内容即为misconception的内容,将原文的browsing 改为原形动词browse,就能得到本题答案:browse slowly through the store。
5. According to the author, the best way to save money is to cut the shopping time and stick to ______.
the grocery list
[定位] 最后两段。 [解析] 根据倒数第2段首句和末段的内容可知作者建议购物时只购买写在“购物清单”上的物品,其他一概不买, 由此可见,本题应填写 the grocery list。
Section B 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 center.
Passage One Picasso's art was not just a pleasant distraction. The artist believed that art helps to penetrate further into the world and into men for understanding. With his unusually acute senses, with his intense, black eyes, Picasso saw every subject as no one else did. He tried to express the essence of his subject. He showed people how to grasp a new concept of beauty. He made them realize that beauty can have a diversity of forms. "Now is the time in this period of change and revolution to use a revolutionary manner of painting and not to paint like before." That was Picasso's idea. Believing it is the artist's function to discover new forms of expression, he liberated art and made our feelings about it more acute. Picasso keeps all of art alive. His work encompasses 'all of the past and foretells the future of art. His early paintings were sober and sensible, in the academic style. But Picasso was among the first artists to appreciate the vitality of the primitive African masks and idols that he saw in exhibitions in Paris before the First World War. Later, he experimented in recreating the artist's world as Cezanne had analyzed it, "You must see in nature the cylinder, the sphere, the cone"— "the little Cubes," as one artist called them. This Cubist vision of the world introduced a new period in the history of art and influenced all the forms of self-expression in the first half of the twentieth century: sculpture, architecture, ballet, theater design, and all the decorative arts. Even the zigzag camouflage (伪装) used in modern warfare was suggested by Cubist (立体派) art. In 1925, Picasso began to explore an uncharted world, the surrealist world, the dream world beyond reality. He traveled in the unexplored regions of the mind and expressed thoughts never uttered before by an artist. His giant canvas, Guernica, made in 1937 to commemorate the Basque town bombed by German planes flying for Franco in the Spanish Civil War, is a picture of a ruined world with strange shapes of dying horses and murdered children. It is a violent expression of revolt against the horror of modern warfare, in a language not understood by the ordinary man. Many people have not yet been able to accept this modern, revolutionary kind of art, which Picasso influenced more than any other one artist. Perhaps his art will not be fully under stood for many years. "Everyone wants to understand art," protested Picasso. "Why not try to understand the song of a bird?" He explained further, "I don't read English. An English book is a blank to me. This doesn't mean that the English language doesn't exist. Why should I blame anyone else but myself if I can't understand what I know nothing about?" For those who can understand his art, Picasso ranks among the great artists who illuminate the world and help men to see life more clearly. As Michelangelo himself a great artist, said, "Some merit the name of eagles because they surpass all others and break through the clouds to the light of the sun." In the world of art, Pablo Picasso is surely among the eagles.
1. What do people tend to think of Picasso's paintings?
A.They arouse much imagination.
B.They are enjoyable amusements.
C.They show a new concept of beauty.
D.They express the essence of the subject.
A B C D
B
[定位] 首段首句。 [解析] 首句首先指小一般人对毕加索的艺术的看法,除此之外,第l段的其他句子都描述毕加索自己对艺术的看法,其他段落是作者对毕加索艺术发展过程的概括和评论。选项B是对首句中a pleasant distraction的近义解析,所以为本题答案。 [点睛] 选项A在文中并无相关细节支持;选项C在首段第5句提到,选项D在首段第4句提到,但都是毕加索自己对艺术创作的看法。
2. Which of the following artists pioneered Cubist art?
3. Which of the following is the true description of the surrealist world?
A.It is the world of dreams experienced by Picasso.
B.It expresses the painters' good will for world peace.
C.It had never been explored by anyone before Picasso.
D.Guernica was the best illustration of the surrealist world.
A B C D
C
[定位]第3段第1、2句。 [解析] 第3段首句中的uncharted,第2句中的unexplored和never uttered都表明毕加索是第一个探索超现实主义世界的人,由此可见,选项C为本题答案。 [点睛] 第3段首句提到了超现实主义世界是dream world beyond reality,泛指现实之外的梦幻世界,而不是特指毕加索经历过的梦境世界,选项A不正确;第3段中以Guetnica为例说明毕加索的超现实主义绘画风格,虽然这幅画的主题表达了对战争的抗议,但这并不意味着超现实主义世界都表达了画家们渴望世界和平的意愿;选项B概括过度;同时,原文没有提及这幅画是对超现实主义画风的最好诠释,因此选项D中的the best说法错误。
4. Picasso quoted the example of the English language to maintain that ______.
A.one has only himself to blame for not being able to understand something
B.he didn't expect that everyone could understand the surrealist art
C.everybody should be able to learn to appreciate the surrealist art
D.the intricacy of the surrealist art should not be blamed on the artists
A B C D
D
[定位] 第3段最后四行引号内的话语。 [解析] 第3段末毕加索所说的话表达了一个意思:自己不懂的东西不能怪罪他人,也不能就此否认它存在的可能和意义。但是应该注意的是,毕加索关注的并不是我们所有不懂的东西,他只是借这个道理说明那些不能理解他艺术的人应该怪自己,而不应该怪有这种艺术理念的艺术家,选项D是答案。 [点睛] 选项A很具有干扰性,因为这是对毕加索最后一句why should I…的近义表达,但毕加索举出英语作例的目的需结合本段的主题——超现实主义艺术,因此选项A的说法过于宽泛;选项B和C说的是两种相反的意见,在毕加索所说的话里,他承认自己不懂英语,但他提到这个的着眼点不是为了说明人人都应该学英语,而是不懂英语应该怪自己,因此,他只表明了不懂现实主义的人应该怪自己,而是否每个人都懂现实主义,他对此没有发表意见,由此可见,选项B和C都缺乏证据。
5. The author most probably thinks that Picasso's art is ______.
A.unprecedented
B.complicated
C.apprehensible
D.matchless
A B C D
A
[定位] 全文。 [解析] 首段第3句中的Picasso saw every subject as no one else did,第5句中的a new concept Of beauty,第3段开头两句中的uncharted,unexplored和never uttered都表明Picasso的艺术形式是以前没有出现过的,因此选项A“史无前例的”用于形容作者对毕加索的艺术的看法最为恰当。 [点睛] 选项B“难以理解的”和C“可以理解的”都不是本文的重点,文中也有某些地方表明普通人认为毕加索的艺术难以理解,但从全文来看,毕加索的艺术是否能被理解并非本文的主旨,本文的主旨是为了说明毕加索的艺术是特别的;选项D“无与伦比的”也不正确,虽然作者很欣赏毕加索,但末段中的among the great artists和among the eagles都表明毕加索是最伟大的艺术家之一,而不是唯一最伟大的。
Passage Two What's hot for 2007 among the very rich? A $7.3 million diamond ring. A trip to Tanzania to hunt wild animals. Oh, and income inequality. Sure, some leftish billionaires like George Soros have been railing against income inequality for years. But increasingly, centrist and right-wing billionaires are starting to worry about income inequality and the fate of the middle class. In December, Mortimer Zuekerman wrote a column in U. S. News & World Report, which he owns. "Our nation's core bargain with the middle class is disintegrating," lamented(哀叹)the ll7th-richest man in America. "Most of our economic gains have gone to people at the very top of the income ladder. Average income for a household of people of working age, by contrast, has fallen five years in a row." He noted that "tens of millions of Americans live in fear that a major health problem can reduce them to bankruptcy." Wilbur Ross Jr. has echoed Zuekerman's anger over the bitter struggles faced by middle-class Americans. "It's an outrage that any American's life expectancy should be shortened simply because the company they worked for went bankrupt and ended health-care coverage," said the former chairman of the International Steel Group. What's happening? The very rich are just as trendy as you and I, and can be so when it comes to politics and policy. Given the recent change of control in Congress, the popularity of measures like increasing the minimum wage, and efforts by California's governor to offer universal health care, these guys don't need their own personal weathermen to know which way the wind blows. It's possible that plutocrats(有钱有势的人)are expressing solidarity with the struggling middle class as part of an effort to insulate themselves from confiscatory(没收性的)tax policies. But the prospect that income inequality will lead to higher taxes on the wealthy doesn't keep plutocrats up at night. They can live with that. No, what they fear was that the political challenges of sustaining support for global economic integration will be more difficult in the United States because of what has happened to the distribution of income and economic insecurity. In other words, if middle-class Americans continue to struggle financially as the ultrawealthy grow ever wealthier, it will be increasingly difficult to maintain political support for the free flow of goods, services, and capital across borders. And when the United States places obstacles in the way of foreign investors and foreign goods, it's likely to encourage reciprocal action abroad. For people who buy and sell companies, or who allocate capital to markets all around the world, that's the real nightmare.
1. What is the current topic of common interest among the very rich in America?
A.The fate of the ultrawealthy people.
B.The disintegration of the middle class.
C.The inequality in the distribution of wealth.
D.The conflict between the left and the right wing.
A B C D
C
细节题。由文章第一段“What's hot for 2007 among the very rich? A $7.3 million diamond ring.A trip to Tanzania to hunt wild animals.Oh,and income inequality.”可知作者是在提出全文的话题。借助设问,作者指出目前最最富有的人所关注的话题是收入的不平等,或者说是财富分配的不平等.故本题正确答案是C项。
2. What do we learn from Mortimer Zuckerman's lamentation?
A.Many middle-income families have failed to make a bargain for better welfare.
B.The American economic system has caused many companies to go bankrupt.
C.The American nation is becoming more and more divided despite its wealth.
D.The majority of Americans benefit little from the nation's growing wealth.
A B C D
D
细节推断题。由第三段第一、二句“...‘Our nation's core bargain、with the middle class is disintegrating,’lamented the 117th-richest man in America.Most of our economic gains have gone to people,at the very top of the income ladder.Average income for a household of people of working age,by contrast,has fallen five years in a row.’”可知Mortimer Zuckerman哀叹之后解释说经济收入的大部分都到了少数最富有的人手中。而普通工作者的人均家庭收入则连续五年下滑。可见他所哀叹的是经济收入的不平等。也可以看出,尽管经济增长,普通工作者的收入反而下滑.他们从整个国家的经济增长中受益微小。故本题答案为D项。
3. From the fifth paragraph we can learn that ______.
A.the very rich are fashion-conscious
B.the very rich are politically sensitive
C.universal health care is to be implemented throughout America
D.Congress has gained popularity by increasing the minimum wage
A B C D
B
细节题。由第五段第一句“The very rich are just as trendy as you and I,and can be so when it comes to politics and policy.”可知作者认为那些非常富有的人是和普通人一样的时尚人士,尤其是在政治和政策方面。紧接着作者举例,指出通过观察国会最近的政策变化,如提高最低工资、提供普遍的健康保障,这些富人完全明白政策导向。可见富人们在政治方面是十分敏感的。故正确答案为B项。
4. What is the real reason for plutocrats to express solidarity with the middle class?
A.They want to protect themselves from confiscatory taxation.
B.They know that the middle class contributes most to society.
C.They want to gain support for global economic integration.
D.They feel increasingly threatened by economic insecurity.
A B C D
C
归纳推断题。从第六段起,作者开始探讨富豪们声援中产阶级的原因。他首先提出一种可能性:富豪们这样做是为了使自己免受没收性税收政策的影响。但他马上对此进行了否定。到第七段,作者提出了富豪们声援中产阶级的真正原因,即收入的不平等可能会导致政府难以持续支持全球性经济融合,即“No,what they fear was that the political challenges of sustaining support for global economic integration will be more difficult in the United States because of what has happened to the distribution of income and economic insecurity.”,到第八段,作者又对此做了详细解释。故本题正确答案为C项。
5. What may happen if the United States places obstacles in the way of foreign investors and foreign goods?
A.The prices of imported goods will inevitably soar beyond control.
B.The investors will have to make great efforts to re-allocate capital.
C.The wealthy will attempt to buy foreign companies across borders.
D.Foreign countries will place the same economic barriers in return.
A B C D
D
细节题。由最后一段第二句“And when the United States places obstacles in the way of foreign investors and foreign goods,it's likely to encourage reciprocal action abroad。”可知,一旦美国政府对外国投资者和商品设置障碍,很可能会引起国外相应的行为。也就是说,外国政府会同样对美国投资者和商品设置经济障碍。这是美国的富豪们最最害怕的.故本题答案为D项。
Part Ⅴ Error Correction Directions:This part consists of a short passage. In this passage, there are altogether 10 mistakes, one in each numbered line. You may have to change a word, add a word or delete a word. Mark out the mistakes and put the corrections in the blanks provided. If you change a word, cross it out and write the correct word in the corresponding blank, lf you add a word, put an insertion mark (∧) in the right place and write the missing word in the blank, lf you delete a word, cross it out and put a slash (—) in the blank. Most people say that the USA is making progress in fighting AIDS, but they don't know there's cure and strongly disagree that "the AIDS epidemic 64. ______ is over," a new survey finds. The findings, relieved Thursday by the Kaiser Family Foundation, reassure 65. ______ activism who have worried that public concern about AIDS might disappear in night to recent news about advances in treatment and declines in deaths. 66. ______ "While people are very pessimistic about the advances, they're still 67. ______ realistic about the fact that there is no cure," says Sophia Chang, director of HIV programs at the foundation. The Kaiser Family Foundation did find in its survey that the number of 68. ______ people ranked AIDS as the country's top health problem has fallen. 69. ______ In the poll, 38% says it's the top concern, down from 44 % in a 1996 poll. 70. ______ Other findings from Kaiser, which poll more than 1,200 adults in September and 71. ______ October and asked additional question of another 1,000 adults in Novembershow that 72. ______ 52% say that the country is malting progress against AIDS, up from 32% in 1995. Daniel Zingale, director of AIDS Action Council, says, "I'm encouraged that the American people are getting the message what the AIDS. epidemic isn't over. I hope 73. ______ the decision-makers in Washington are getting the same message. We have seen signs of complacency (满足)"