南开大学2003年博士研究生入学考试英语试题

南开大学2003年博士研究生入学考试英语试题Part I Listening Comprehension(略)Part Ⅱ Reading Comprehension (20 points)Passage 1Traffic statistics paint a gloomy picture. To help solve their traffic woes, some rapidly growing U. S. cities have simply built more roads. But traffic experts say building more roads is a quick-fix solution that will not alleviated the traffic problem in the long run. Soaring land costs, increasing concern over social and environmental disruptions caused by road-building, and the likelihood that more roads can only lead to more cars and traffic are powerful factors bearing down on a 1950s-style construction program.The goal of smart-highway technology is to make traffic systems work at optimum efficiency by treating the road and the vehicles traveling on them as an integral transportation system. Proponents of the advanced technology say electronic detection systems, closed-circuit television, radio communication, ramp metering, variable message signing, and other smart-highway technology can now be used at a reasonable cost to improve communication between drivers and the people who monitor traffic.Pathfinder, a Santa Monica, California-based smart-highway project in which a 14-mile stretch of the Santa Monica Freeway, making up what is called a "smart corridor", is being instrumented with buried loops in the pavement. Closed-circuit television cameras survey the flow of traffic, while communication linked to property equipped automobiles advise motorists of the least congested routes or detours.Not all traffic experts, however, look to smart-highway technology as the ultimate solution to traffic gridlock. Some say the high-tech approach is limited and can only offer temporary solutions to a serious problem."Electronics on the highway addresses just one aspect of the problem: how to regulate traffic more efficiently," explains Michael Renner, senior researcher at the world-watch Institute. "It doesn't deal with the central problem of too many cars for roads that can' t be built fast enough. It sends people the wrong message. They start thinking "Yes, there used to be a traffic congestion problem, but that's been solved now because we have, advanced high-tech system in place." Larson agrees and adds, "Smart highways is just one of the tools that we use to deal with our traffic problems. It's not the solution itself, just pan of the package. There are different strategies."Other traffic problem-solving options being studied and experimented with include car pooling, rapid mass-transit systems, staggered or flexible work hours, and road pricing, a system whereby motorists pay a certain amount for the time they use a highway.It seems that we need a new, major thrust to deal with the traffic problems of the next 20 years. There has to be a big change.1. What is the appropriate title for the passage?A. Smart Highway Projects——The Ultimate Solution to Traffic Congestion.B. A Quick Fix Solution for the Traffic Problems.C. A Venture to Remedy Traffic Woos.D. Highways Get Smart—— Part of the Package to Relieve Traffic Gridlock.2. The compound word "quick-fix" in Paragraph 1, sentence 3 is closest in meaning to __________.A. an optional solutionB. an expedient solutionC. a ready solutionD. an efficient solution3. According to the passage, the smart-highway technology is aimed to __________.A. develop sophisticated facilities on the interstate highwaysB. provide passenger vehicle with a variety of servicesC. optimize the highway capabilitiesD. improve communication between driver and the traffic monitors4. According to Larsen, to redress the traffic problem, __________.A. car pooling must be studiedB. rapid mass transit system must be introducedC. flexible work hours must be experimentedD. overall strategies must be coordinated5. Which of the following best describes the organization of the whole passage?A. Two contrasting views of a problem are presented.B. A problem is examined and complementary solutions are proposed or offered.C. Latest developments are outlined in order of importance.D. An innovation is explained with its importance emphasized.Passage 2A strange thing about humans is their capacity for blind rage. Rage is presumably an emotion resulting from survival instinct, but the surprising thing about it is that we do not deploy it against other animals. If we encounter a dangerous wild animal—a poisonous snake or a wildcat—we do not fly into a temper. If we are unarmed, we show fear and attempt to back away; if we are suitably armed, we attack, but in a rational manner not in a rage. We reserve rage for our own species. It is hard to see any survival value in attacking one' s own, but if we take account of the long competition which must have existed between our own subspecies and others like Neanderthal mar—indeed others still more remote from us than Neanderthal man—man rage becomes more comprehensible.In our everyday language and behavior there are many reminders of those early struggles. We are always using tile words "us and them". "Our" side is perpetually trying to do down the "other" side. In games we artificially create other subspecies we can attack. The opposition of "us" and "them" is the touchstone of the two-party system of "democratic" politics. Although there are no very serious consequences to many of this modern psychological representation of the "us andthem" emotion, it is as well to remember that the original aim was not to beat the other subspecies in a game but to exterminate it.The readiness with which human beings allow themselves to be regimented has permitted large armies to be formed, which, taken together with the "us and them" blind rage, has led to destructive clashes within Our subspecies itself. The First World War is an example in which Europe divided itself into two imaginary subspecies. And there is a similar extermination battle now in Northern Ireland. The idea that there is a religious basis for this clash is illusory, for not even the pope has been able to control it. The clash is much more primitive than the Christian religion, much older in its emotional origin. The conflict in Ireland is unlikely to stop until a greater primitive fear is imposed from outside the community, or until tile combatants become exhausted.6. A suitable title for this passage would be____________.A. Wily Human Armies Are FormedB. Man's Anger Against the WorldC. The Human Capacity for RageD. Early Straggles of Angry Mail7. According to the author, the surprising aspect of human anger is ___________.A. its lengthy and complex developmentB. a conflict such as is now going on in Northern IrelandC. that we do not fly into a temper more oftenD. that we reserve anger for mankind8. The passage suggests that___________.A. historically, we have created an "us" versus "them" societyB. humans have had a natural disinclination toward formal groupingC. the First World War is an example of how man has always avoided dominationD. the emotional origin of the war in Ireland is lost in time9. From the passage we can infer that___________.A. the artificial creation of a subspecies unlike us is something that never happensB. games are psychologically unhealthyC. any artificially created subspecies would be our enemyD. the real or imagined existence of an opposing subspecies is inherent in man' s activities10. The author believes that a religious explanation for the war in Northern Ireland is __________.A. founded in historical factB. deceptiveC. apparentD. accuratePart ⅢVocabulary ( 5 points)Directions: There are 10 incomplete sentences in this part. For each sentence, there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the ONE that best completes the sentence.1. Most of the young people hold the mistaken belief that goods produced in our own country are_____ to imported ones.A. inadequateB. inappropriateC. inferiorD. interior2. It is not a question of how much a man knows, but what use he_____ what he knows.A. makes forB. makes ofC. makes upD. makes out3. Throughout the empire of Kublai Khan, money made of paper was used for business__________, something unheard of in Europe.A. transformationsB. transmissionsC. transitionsD. transactions4. As the pressure ________the liquid rock is forced up through channels in the resistant rock to the earth' s surface.A. intensifiesB. magnifiesC. heightensD. deviates5. The strong scent of Kate's perfume_________ the air in the small room.A. radiatedB. permeatedC. extractedD. dispersed6. The scientific and medical prizes have proved to be the least_________, while those for literature and peace by their very nature have been the most exposed to critical differences.A. radicalB. prominentC. confidentialD. controversial7. They are _________to industrialists, who need the valuable copper and nickel in them.A. temptingB. ticklingC. tormentingD. tricking8. Another popular misconception is the_________ that great talent is usually highly specific.A. notionB. dilemmaC. domainD. analogy9. You can _________the loudness of the radio by turning the knob to right or left.A. changeB. varyC. alterD. transform10. The distance between the earth and the sun may be said to be_________.A. enormousB. hugeC. vastD. immensePart ⅣError Correction (10 points)Directions: In the following passage, there are 10 mistakes, one in each numbered line. You may have to add a word, cross out a word, or change a word. Mark out the mistakes and put the corrections in the blanks provided, If you cross out a word, put a slant (/) in the blank.When a consumer finds that an item she or he bought is in faulty or in 1. __________some other way does not live to the manufacturer's claim for it , the first 2. __________step is to present the warranty or any other records which might help, at thestore of purchase. In most cases, this action will produce results. Moreover, 3.__________if it does not, there are various means the consumer may use to gain satisfaction.A simple and common method used by many consumers is to complaindirectly to the store manager. In general, the "high up" the consumer 4.__________.takes his or her complaint, the faster he or she can expect to be settled. 5. _________In such case, it is usually settled in the consumer's favor, assumed he 6.__________.or she has a just claim. Consumers should complain about in person 7.__________.whenever possible, but if it cannot get to the place of purchase, it is 8.___________.acceptable to phone or write the complaint with a letter. 9.___________.Complaining is usually most effective when it is done politely butfirmly, and especially when the consumer can demonstrate that is wrong 10. _________with the item in question.Part ⅤWriting (10 points)Directions: For this part, you are asked to write a composition on the topic "It pays to be honest".Your composition should be no less than 150 words based on the given outline．Remember write clearly on the Answer Sheet．Outline：1．Honest is the best policy．2．Give examples to support your point of view．3．Conclusion．南开大学2003年博士研究生入学考试英语试题参考答案与解析Part I Listening Comprehension(略)Part Ⅱ Reading ComprehensionPassage 11．[答案]D[解析]本题中，A项与第四段第一句话的意思不符；B项不正确，本文主要讲的不是修路；C项在文中未被提及。