(推荐)四川大学博士研究生入学考试英语试题

四川大学2005年博士研究生入学英语考试题

Passage 1

As the horizons of science have expanded, two main groups of scientists have emerged. One is the pure scientist; the other, the applied scientist.

The pure or theoretical scientist does original research in order to understand the basic laws of nature that govern our world. The applied scientist adapts this knowledge to practical problems. Neither is more important than the other, however, for the two groups are very much related. Sometimes, however, the applied scientist finds the "problem" for the theoretical scientist to work on. Let's take a particular problem of the aircraft industry: heat-resistant metals. Many of the metals and alloys which perform satisfactorily in a car cannot be used in a jet-propelled plane. New alloys must be used, because the jet engine operates at a much higher temperature than an automobile engine. The turbine wheel in a turbojet must withstand temperatures as high as 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit, so aircraft designers had to turn to the research metallurgist for the development of metals and alloys that would do the job in jet-propelled planes.

Dividing scientists into two groups is only one broad way of classifying them, however. When scientific knowledge was very limited, there was no need for men to specialize. Today, with the great body of scientific knowledge, scientists

specialize in many different fields. Within each field, there is even further subdivision. And, with finer and finer subdivisions, the various sciences have become more and more interrelated until no one branch is entirely independent of the' others. Many new specialties --geophysics and biochemistry, for example -- have resulted from combining the knowledge of two or more sciences.

1. The applied scientist ______.

A. is not always interested in practical problems

B. provides the basic knowledge for practice

C. applies the results of research to practice

D. does original research to understand the basic laws of nature

2. The example given in the passage illustrates how ___.

A. pure science operates independently of applied science

B. the applied

scientist discovers the basic laws of nature

C. applied science defines all the areas in which basic research is done

D. applied science suggests problems for the basic scientist

3. The problem discussed in the second paragraph called for____.

A. selecting the best hear-resistant metal from existing metals

B. developing a turbine wheel capable of generating heat up to 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit

C. developing metals and alloys that would withstand terrific temperatures

D. causing the jet engine to operate at higher temperatures

4. Finer mad finer subdivision in the field of science has resulted in_____.

A. greater independence of each science

B. greater interdependence of all the various sciences

C. the eradication of the need for specialists

D. the need for only

on classification of scientists

5. "The horizons of science have expanded" means that____.

A. the horizon changes its size from year to year

B. science has developed more fields of endeavor

C. scientists have made great progress in studying the horizon

D. scientists can see further out into space

chow Passage 2

In The Disuniting of America: Reflections on a Multicultural Society, Revised and Enlarged Edition (W. W. Norton) Schlesinger provides deep insights into the crises of nationhood in America. A new chapter assesses the impact both of radical multiculturalism and radical monoculturalism on the Bill of rights. Written with his usual clarity and force, the book brings a noted historian's wisdom and perspective to bear on America's "culture wars".

Schlesinger addresses the questions: What holds a nation together? And what does it mean to be an American? Describing the emerging cult of ethnicity, Schlesinger praises its healthy effect on a nation long shamed by a history of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. But he warns against the campaign of multicultural advocates to divide the nation into separate ethnic and racial communities. From the start, he observes, the United States has been a multicultural nation, rich in its diversity but held together by a shared commitment to the democratic process and by the freedom of intermarriage. It was this national talent for assimilation that impressed foreign visitors like Alexis de Tocqueville and James Bryce, and it is this historic goal that Schlesinger champions as the best hope for the future. Schlesinger analyzes what

he sees as grim consequences of identity politics: the widening of differences. Attacks on the First Amendment, he argues, threaten intellectual freedom and, ultimately, the future of the ethnic groups. His criticisms are not limited to the left. As a former target of McCarthyism, he understands that the radical right is even more willing than the radical left to restrict and weaken the Bill of Rights.

The author does not minimize the injustices concealed by the "melting pot" dream. The Disuniting of America is both academic and personal, forceful in argument, balanced in judgment. It is a book that will no doubt anger some readers, but it will surely make all of them think again. The winner of Pulitzer Prizes for history and for biography, an authoritative voice of

American liberalism, Schlesinger is uniquely positioned to bring bold answers and healing wisdom to this passionate debate over who we are and what we should become.

6. According to Schlesinger, the United States is_____.

A. a melting pot

B. a nation with diverse cultures held together by the democratic process

C. a federation of ethnic and racial communities

D. a nation with various ethnic and racial groups

7. We can infer from the passage that Schlesinger______.

A. advocates the assimilation of different cultures into one nationhood

B. prefers multiculturalism to monoculturalism

C. gives full support to the emerging cult of ethnicity

D. holds that each racial group should keep its distinct identity

8. The author wants to tell us that America_____.

A. is experiencing a crisis of nationhood

B. is trying to restrict the Bill of Right

C. has ended its history of racial prejudice

D. has tried to obstruct intellectual freedom

9. According to the author, Schlesinger's book will____.

A. cause anger among the radical right

B. cause anger among the radical left

C. put an end to the culture wars in America

D. provoke thinking among the readers

10. This passage is most probably taken from __.

A. a history book

B. a book introduction

C. a book review

D. a journal of literary criticism

chow Passage 3

The El Nino ("little boy" in Spanish) that pounded the globe between the summers of1997 and 1998 was in some measure the most destructive in this century. Worldwide damage estimates exceed ~20 billion --not to mention the human death toll caused by resulting droughts, floods and bushfires. El Nino and La Nina ("little girl") are part of a seesawing of winds and currents in the equatorial Pacific called ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation) that appears every two to eight years. Normally, westward-blowing trade winds caused by the rotation of the earth and conditions in the Tropics push surface water across the Pacific towards Asia. The warm water piles up along the coasts of Indonesia, Australia and the Philippines, raising sea levels more than a foot above those on the South American side of the Pacific. As El Nino builds the normal east-to-west trade winds wane. Like water splashing in a giant bathtub, the elevated pool of warm water washes from Asian shores back towards South America.

In last season's cycle, surface temperatures off the west coast of South America soared from a normal high of 23°C degrees to 28°C degrees. This area of warm water, twice the size of the continental US, interacted with the atmosphere, creating storms and displacing high-altitude winds. El Nino brought rain that flooded normally dry coastal areas of Ecuador, Chile and Peru, while droughts struck Australia and Indonesia. Fires destroyed some five million acres of Indonesian forest. The drought, along with the economic crisis, left about five million people desperate for food and water. These conditions helped set the stage for riots that led to the downfall of President Suharto. El Nino also took the blame for extreme temperatures in Texas last summer over 38°C degrees for a record 30 days in a row. In Florida, lush vegetation turned to tinder and bushfires raged. Even Britain has been sweltering with our hottest year on record in 1997.

11. As El Sino builds, _____ .

A. the normal westward trade winds weaken

B. the normal eastward trade winds weaken

C. the normal westward trade winds strengthen

D. the normal eastward trade winds strengthen

12. Which of the following statements is true?

A. El Nino results from droughts, floods and bushfires.

B. El Nino brought rain to most areas that were affected,

C. When El Nino appeared, some of the world's rainforests were attacked by droughts.

D. Most areas that were affected by El Nino got droughts.

13. Once El Nino even played a role in the political world. What was it?

A. President Suharto was overthrown by the drought caused by El Nino.

B. El Nino caused riots that led to the downfall of President Suharto.

C. President Suharto resigned because of the drought caused by El Nino.

D. The drought caused by El Nino together with the economic crisis prevailing in Indonesia helped to overthrow President Suharto.

14. The phrase "in a row" in the last paragraph means____.

A. continuously

B. in a line

C. awfully

D. now and then

15. The writer of this passage is most likely to be____.

A. an Australia observer

B. a British national

C. an American geographer

D. an Indonesia journalist

chow Passage 4

In patients with Huntington's disease, it's the part of the brain called the basal ganglia that's destroyed. While these victims have perfectly intact explicit memory systems, they can't learn new motor skills. An Alzheimer's patient can learn to draw in a mirror but can't remember doing it: a Huntington's patient can't do it but can remember trying to learn. Yet another

region of the brain, an almond-size knot of neural tissue seems to be crucial in forming and triggering the recall of a special subclass of memories that is tied to strong emotion, especially fear. These are just some of the major divisions. Within the category implicit memory, for example, lie the subcategories of associative memory –the phenomenon that famously led Parlov's dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell which they had learned to associate with food and of habituation, in which we unconsciously file away unchanging features of the environment so we can pay closer attention to what's new and different upon encountering a new experience.

Within explicit, or declarative memory, on the other hand, there are specific subsystems that handle shapes, textures such as faces, names -- even distinct systems to remember nouns vs. verbs. All of these different types of memory are ultimately stored in the brain's cortex, within its deeply furrowed outer layer -- a component of the brain dauntingly more complex than comparable parts in other species. Experts in brain imaging are only beginning to understand what goes where, and how the parts are reassembled into a coherent whole that seems to be a single memory is actually a complex construction. Think of a hammer, and your brain hurriedly retrieves the tool's name, its appearance, its function, its heft and the sound of its clang, each extracted from a different region of the brain. Fail to connect person's name with his or her face, and you experience the breakdown of that assembly process that many of us begin to experience in our 20s and that becomes downrightworrisome when we reach our 50s.

It was this weakening of memory and the parallel loss of ability to learn new things easily that led biologist Joe Tsien to the experiments reported last week. "This age-dependent loss of function," he says, "appears in many animals, and it begins with the onset of sexual maturity."

What's happening when the brain forms memories -- and what fails with aging, injury and disease -- involves a phenomenon known as "plasticity". It's obvious that something in the brain changes as we learn and remember new things, but it's equally obvious that the organ doesn't change its overall structure or grow new nerve cells wholesale. Instead, it's the connections between new cells -- and particularly the strength of these connections that are altered by experience. Hear a word over and over, and the repeated firing of certain cells in a certain order makes it easier to repeat the firing pattern later on. It is the pattern that represents each specific memory.

16. Which of the following symptoms can be observed in a person who suffers from the Huntington's disease?

A. He cannot remember what he has done but can remember trying to learn.

B. He cannot do something new but he can remember doing it.

C. He suffers from a bad memory and lack of motor skills.

D. He suffers from a poor basal ganglia and has intact explicit memory.

17. According to the passage, which of the following memories has nothing to do with implicit memory?

A. Associating a signal with an action.

B. Recognizing of new features.

C. Focusing on new environment.

D. Remembering a familiar face of a friend.

18. Which of the following may happen to a patient who suffered from damages to

his explicit memory?

A. When he is in a new environment, he is always frightened.

B. When he plays football, he cannot learn new tricks.

C. When he sees a friend, it's hard for him to remember his name.

D. When he finds a hammer, he cannot tell anything about it.

19. The word "extract" in the second paragraph means_____.

A. obtain

B. remove

C. pull

D. derive

20. We can draw a conclusion from the passage that_____.

A. Scientists have found the mechanism underlying the memorizing activities

B. More research must be done to determine the brain structure.

C. Some researchers are not content with the findings.

D. It is obvious that something in the brain changes as we learn and remember. chow Passage 5

Mobility of individual members and family groups tends to split up family relationships. Occasionally the movement of a family away from a situation which has been the source of friction results in greater family organization, but on the whole mobility is disorganizing. Individuals and families are involved in three types of mobility: movement in space, movement up or down in social status, and the movement of ideas. These are termed respectively spatial, vertical and ideational mobility.

A great increase in spatial mobility has gone along with improvements in rail and water transportation, the invention and use of the automobile, and the availability of airplane passenger service. Spatial mobility results in a decline in the importance of the traditional home with its emphasis on family continuity and stability. It also means that when individual family members or the family as a whole move away from a community, the person or the family is removed from the pressures of relatives, friends, and community institutions for conventionality and stability. Even more important is the fact that spatial mobility permits some members of a family to come in contact with and possibly adopt attitudes, values, and ways of thinking different from those held by other family members. The presence of different attitudes values, and ways of thinking within a family may, and often does, result in conflict and family disorganization. Potential disorganization is present in those

families in which the husband, wife and children are spatially separated over a long period, or are living together but see each other only briefly because of different work schedules.

One index of the increase in vertical mobility is the great increase in the proportion of sons, and to some extent daughters who engage in occupations other than those of the parents. Another index of vertical mobility is the degree of intermarriage between social classes. This occurs almost exclusively between classes which are adjacent to each other. Engaging in a different occupation, or intermarriage, like spatial mobility, allows one to come in contact with ways of behavior different from those of the parental home, and tends to separate parents and their children.

The increase in ideational mobility is measured by the increase in publications, such as newspapers, periodicals and books, the increase in the percentage of the population owning radios, and the increase in television sets. All these tend to introduce new ideas into the home. When individual family members are exposed to and adopt the new ideas, the tendency is for conflict to arise and for those in conflict to become psychologically separated from each other.

21. What the passage tells us can be summarized by the statement___.

A. potential disorganization is present in the American family

B. social development results in a decline in the importance of traditional families

C. the movement of a family is one of the factors in raising its social status

D. family disorganization is more or less the result of mobility

22. According to the passage, those who live in a traditional family ___

A. can get more help from their family members if the are in trouble

B. will have more freedom of action and thought if they move away from it

C. are less likely to quarrel with others because of conventionality and stability

D. have to depend on their relatives and friends if they do not move away from it

23. Potential disorganization exists in those families in which ____

A. the family members are subject to social pressures

B. both parents have to work full time

C. the husband, wife and children, and children seldom get together

D. the husband, wife and children work too hard

24. Intermarriage and different occupations play an important role in family disorganization because____.

A. they enable the children to travel around without their parents

B. they enable the children to better understand the ways of behavior of their parents

C. they allow one to find a good job and improve one's social status

D. they permit one to come into contact with different ways of behavior and thinking

25. This passage suggests that a well-organized family is a family whose members __

A. are not psychologically withdrawn from one another

B. seldom quarrel with each other even when they disagree

C. often help each other with true love and affection

D. are exposed to the same new ideas introduced by books, radios and TV sets chow Passage 6

A design for a remotely-controlled fire engine could make long road or rail tunnels safer. It is the brainchild of an Italian fire safety engineer, who claims that his invention -- dubbed Robogat -- could have cut the death toll in the disastrous Mont Blanc tunnel fire in March 1999 which killed 41 people.

Most of the people who perished dies within 15 minutes of smoke first being detected. Quick action is needed when fire breaks out in a tunnel. Robogat can travel at about 50 kilometers per hour. The Mont Blanc fire was 5 kilometers from the French end of the tunnel, so a machine could have got there in about six minutes.

The Robogat has been designed and patented by Domenico Piatti of the Naples fire department. It runs on a monorail suspended from the roof of the tunnel. When the Robogat reaches a fire, it plugs into a modified water main running along the tunnel and directs its hoses at the base of the fire. It is capable of pumping 3,000 liters of high-pressure water per minute--about the same rate as that from an airport fire tender. Normal fire engines deliver 500 liters per minute. The machine's heat-resistant skin is designed to withstand temperatures of up to 1,000°C. Designed to fight fires in tunnels up to 12 kilometers long, the Robogat will be operated from a control centre outside the tunnel. Ideally, tunnels should have a Robogat stationed at each end, allowing fires to be tackled from both sides.

Piatti says that it would be relatively cheap to install the Robogat in new tunnels, with each machine costing around ￡250,000. "That's not expensive," says Stuart Jagger, a British fire-fighting specialist, who adds, "Fire-fighters normally have to approach the blaze from upwind. People have dies if the ventilation is overwhelmed or someone changes the ventilation. If the robot worked remotely it would be an advantage." But this introduces extra problems: the Robogat would have to feed information about the state of the fire back to its controller, and the sensors, like the rest of the machine, would have to be fire-resistant. Piatti is now looking for financial backing to build a prototype.

26. The Robogat can quickly get through to the scene of a fire because___.

A. it is in position in the middle of the tunnel

B. it can move on a monorail suspended from the roof of the tunnel

C. it runs on a monorail and can take quick action

D. its modified water main can run along the tunnel quickly

27. When fire breaks out in a tunnel, the most important thing is to __

A. install a Rogogat quickly

B. detect the smoke quickly

C. change the ventilation

D. take quick actions

28. The Robogat is designed to pump water____.

A. at a speed of 500 liters a minute

B. almost as fast as an airport tender

C. six times faster than an ordinary fire-engine

D. at a rate of an airport fire tender

29. According to the passage, because temperatures in a tunnel can be very high,____.

A. the Robogat has to have a heat-resistant skin

B, the Robogat is operated in a control centre outside the tunnel

C. the Robogat can only work at the scene of a fire for a limited period

D. a Robogat is stationed at each end

30. One problem that has not yet been solved, it seems, is that____

A. a prototype has not yet been accepted

B. financial backing is not available

C. the machine will need fire-resistant sensors

D. the machine would not work if the ventilation was overwhelmed

Chow II. Vocabulary (10%, 0.5 mark each)

31. This university offers a wide variety of high-quality courses for both graduate and undergraduate students.

A. select

B. choice

C. alternative

D. optional

32. ____ your request for a refund, we have referred that matter to our main office.

A. On the point of

B. With relationship to

C. In the event of

D. With

regard to

33.AIDs activists permanently changed and shortened America's __ process for testing and approving new drags of all kinds, for all diseases.

A. stagnant

B. intricate

C. appropriate

D. efficient

34. Exercise can affect our outlook on life, and it can also help us get rid of tension, anxiety and frustration. So we should take exercise__.

A. regularly

B. normally

C. usually

D. constantly

35. Many artists believe that successful imitation, far from being symptomatic of a lack of originality, is the step in learning to be__.

A. elegant

B. confident

C. creative

D. imaginary

36. There is scientific evidence to support our___ that being surrounded by plants is good for health.

A. instinct

B. implication

C. perception

D. conception

37. Tom plunged into the pond immediately when he saw a boat was sinking and a

little girl in it was___.

A. in need

B. on the decline

C. in disorder

D. at stake

38. An obvious change of attitude at the top towards women's status in society will___ through the current law system in that country.

A. permeate

B. violate

C. probe

D. grope

39. All the finished products are stored in a___ of the delivery port and shipping is available at any time.

A. warehouse

B. capsule

C. garage

D. cabinet

40. As he walked out the court, he was____ with frustration and rage.

A. applauding B, quivering C. paralyzing D. limping

41. The Board of Directors decided that more young men who were qualified would be_____ important positions.

A. attributed to

B. furnished with

C. installed in

D. inserted into

42. There are still some____ for students of science and engineering, but those in arts and humanities have been filled.

A. positions

B. vacancies

C. applications

D. categories

43. Wireless waste from cell phones, pocket PCs, and music players__ special problems because they have toxic chemicals in batteries and other components.

A. pose

B. commit

C. transport

D. expose

44. Although Kerry has had no formal education, he is one of the___ businessmen in the company.

A. alertest

B. sternest

C. nastiest

D. shrewdest

45. The senior citizen expressed a sentiment which___ profoundly to every Chinese heart.

A. drew

B. attract

C. appealed

D. impressed

46. ___students should be motivated by a keen interest in theatre and should have some familiarity with plays in production.

A. realistic

B. responsible

C. ethnic

D. prospective

47. The accuracy of scientific observations and calculations is always___ the scientist's time-keeping methods.

A.at the mercy of

B.in accordance with

C.under the guidance of

D. by means of

48. Recently a number of cases have been reported of young children ___ a violent act previously seen on television.

A. stimulating

B. duplicating

C. modifying

D.

accelerating