研究生入学考试英语模拟试题八.docx

研究生入学考试英语模拟试题(八)及参考答案Part III Reading Comprehension1The standardized educational or psychological tests, that are widely used to aid in selecting, assigning, or promoting students, employees, and military personnel have been the target of recent attacks in books, magazines, the daily press, and even in Congress. The target is wrong, for fin attacking the tests, critics divert attention from the fault that lies with ill-informed or incompetent users. The tests themselves are merely tools, with characteristics that can be measured with reasonable precision under specified condition. Whether the results will be valuable, meaningless, or even misleading depends partly upon the tool itself but largely upon the user.All informed predictions of future performance are based upon some knowledge of relevant past performance. How well the predictions will be validated by later performance depends upon the amount, reliability, and appropriateness of the information used and on the skill and wisdom with which it is interpreted. Anyone who keeps careful score knows that the information available is always incomplete and that the predications are always subject to error.Standardized tests should be considered in this context. They provide a quick, objective method of getting some kinds of information about what a person has learned, the skills he has developed, or the kind of person he is. The information so obtained has, qualitatively, the same advantages and shortcomings as other kinds of information. Whether to use tests, other kinds of information, or both in a particular situation depends, therefore , upon the empirical evidence concerning comparative validity, and upon such factors as cost and availability.In general, the tests work most effectively when the traits or qualities to be measured can be most precisely defined (for example, ability to do well in a particular course of training program) and least effectively when what is to be measured or predicted cannot be well defined (for example, personality or creativity). Properly used, they provide a rapid means of getting comparable information about many people. Sometimes they identify students whose high potential has not been previously recognized.51. What is the essence of this passage?A. All the standardized tests, though widely used, are for the most part misleading.B. Dont blame the test - blame the user.C. When a student is nervous or ill, the test results are inaccurate.D. Educators are gradually losing confidence in the value of the tests.52. The selection implies that , more often, the value of an educational test rests with _.A. the interpretation of results B. the testee C. the test itself D. the direction53. The word empirical (Para. 3) most probably means _.A. theoretical B. critical C. relying on observation and experiment D. indisputable54. According to the passage, which of the following statements is not true?A. Some students shine unexpectedly.B. Predictions do not always hold true.C. Personality tests often fail to measure the true personality.D. The supervisor of the test must be well trained.2.Manners nowadays in metropolitan cities like London are practically non-existent. It is nothing for a big, strong schoolboy to elbow and elderly woman aside in the dash for the last remaining seat on the tube or bus, much less stand up and offer his seat to her, as he ought. In fact, it is saddening to note that if a man does offer his seat to an older woman, it is nearly always a Continental man or one from the older generation.This question of giving up seats in public transport is much argued about by young men, who say that, since women have claimed equality, they no longer deserve to be treated with courtesy and that those who go out to work should take their turn in the rat race like anyone else. Women have never claimed to be physically as strong as men. Even if it is not agreed, however, that young men should stand up for younger women, the fact remains that courtesy should be shown to the old , the sick and the burdened. Are we really so lost to all ideals of unselfishness that we can sit there indifferently reading the paper of a book, saying to ourselves First come, first served, while a grey-haired woman, a mother with a young child or a cripple stands? Yet this is all too often seen.Conditions in travel are really very hard on everyone, we know, but hardship is surely no excuse. Sometimes one wonders what would have been the behavior of these stout young men in a packed refugee train or a train on its way to a prison-camp during the War. Would they have considered it only right and their proper due to keep the best places for themselves then?Older people, tired and irritable from a days work, are not angels, either - far from it. Many a brisk argument or an insulting quarrel breaks out as the weary queues push and shove each other to get on buses and tubes. One cannot commend this, of course, but one does feel there is just a little more excuse.If cities are to remain pleasant places to live in at all, however, it seems urgent, not only that communications in transport should be improved, but also that communication between human beings should be kept smooth and polite. All over cities, it seems that people are too tired and too rushed to be polite, Shop assistants wont bother to assist , taxi drivers shout at each other as they dash dangerously round corners, bus conductors pull the bell before their desperate passengers have had time to get on or off the bus, and so on and so on. It seems to us that it is up to the young and strong to do their small part to stop such deterioration.55. From what you have read , would you expect manners to improve among people _?A. who are physically weak or crippled B. who once lived in a prison-camp during the War C. who live in big modern cities D. who live only in metropolitan cites56. What is the writers opinion concerning courteous manners towards women?A. Now that women have claimed equality, they no longer need to be treated differently from men.B. It is generally considered old-fashioned for young men to give up their seats to young women.C. Lady First should be universally practiced.D. Special consideration ought to be shown them.57. According to the author communication between human beings would be smoother if _.A. people were more considerate towards each other B. people were not so tired and irritable C. women were treated with more courtesy D. public transport could be improved58. What is the possible meaning of the word deterioration in the last paragraph?A. worsening of general situation B. lowering of moral standardsC. declining of physical constitution D. spreading of evil conduct3.For me, scientific knowledge is divided into mathematical sciences natural sciences or sciences dealing with the natural of world ( physical and biological sciences), and sciences dealing with mankind ( psychology, sociology , all the sciences of cultural achievements, every kind of historical knowledge). Apart from these sciences is philosophy, about which we will talk later. In the first place, all this is pure or theoretical knowledge, sought only for the purpose of understanding, in order to fulfil the need to understand that is intrinsic and consubstantial to man. What distinguishes man from animals is that he knows and needs to know.If man did not know that the world existed, and that the world was of a certain kind, that he was in the world and that he himself was of a certain kind, he wouldnt be man. The technical aspects of applications of knowledge are equally necessary for man and are of the greatest importance, because they also contribute to defining him as man and permit him to pursue a life increasingly more truly human.此处缺一行people have, their caution or courage, as they encounter new experiences and unexpected obstacles. In this process, the journey never really ends: there are always new ways to experience the world, new ideas to try, new challenges to accept.In order to grow, to travel new roads, people need to have a willingness to take risks, to confront the unknown, and to accept the possibility that they may fail at first. How we see ourselves as we try a new way of being is essential to our ability to grow. Do we perceive ourselves as quick and curious? If so, then we tend to take more chances and to be more open to unfamiliar experiences. Do we think were shy and indecisive?Then our sense of timidity can cause us to hesitate, to move slowly, and not to take a step until we know the ground is safe. Do we think were slow to adapt to change or that were not smart enough to cope with a new challenge? Then we are likely to take a more passive role or not try at all.These feelings of insecurity and self-doubt are both unavoidable and necessary if we are to change and grow. If we do not confront and overcome these internal fear and doubts, if we protect ourselves too much, then we cease to grow. We become trapped inside a shell of our own making.59. A person is generally believed to achieve personal growth when _.A. he has given up his smoking habit B. he has made great efforts in his workC. he is keen on learning anything new D. he has tried to determine where he is on his journey60. In the authors eyes, one who views personal growth as a process would _.A. succeed in climbing up the social ladderB. judge his ability to grow from his own achievementsC. face difficulties and take up challenges.D. Aim high and reach his goal each time.61. When the author says a new way of being (line 3, para. 3), he is referring to _.A. a new approach to experiencing the world B. a new way of taking risksC. a new method of perceiving ourselves D. a new system of adapting to change62. For personal growth, the author advocates all of following except _.A. curiosity about more chances D. promptness in self-adaptationC. open-mindedness to new experiences D. avoidance of internal fears and doubts4.It has been known for many decades that the appearance of sunspots is roughly periodic, with an average cycle of eleven years. Moreover, the incidence of solar flares and the flux of solar cosmic rays, ultraviolet radiation, and x-radiation all vary directly with the sunspot cycle. But after more than a century of investigation, the relation of these and other phenomena, known collectively as the solar-activity cycle, to terrestrial weather and climate remains unclear. For example, the sunspot cycle and the allied magnetic-polarity cycle have been linked to periodicities discerned in records of such variables as rainfall, temperature, and winds. Invariably, however, the relation is weak, and commonly of dubious statistical significance.Effects of solar variability over longer terms have also been sought. The absence of recorded sunspot activity in the notes kept by European observers in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries has led some scholars to postulate a brief pause of sunspot activity at that time( a period called the Maunder minimum). The Maunder minimum has been linked to a span of unusual cold in Europe extending from the sixteenth to the early nineteenth centuries. The reality of the Maunder minimum has yet to be established, however, especially since the records that Chinese naked-eye observers of solar activity made at that time appear to contradict it. Scientists have also sought evidence of long-term solar periodicities by examining indirect climatological data, such as fossil records of the thickness of ancient tree rings. These studies, however, failed to link clearly terrestrial climate and the solar-activity cycle, or even to confirm the cycles past existence.If consistent and reliable geological or archaeological evidence tracing the solar-activity cycle in the distant past could be found, it might also resolve an important issue in solar physics: how to model solar activity. Currently, there are two models of solar activity. The first supposes that the Suns internal motions (cause by rotation and convection) interact with its large scale magnetic field to produce a dynamo, a device in which mechanical energy is converted into the energy of a magnetic field. In short, the Suns large-scale magnetic field is taken to be self-sustaining, so that the solar-activity cycle it drives would be maintained with little overall change for perhaps billions of years. The alternative explanation supposes that the Suns large-scale magnetic field is a remnant of the field the Sun acquired when it formed, and is not sustained against decay. In this model, the solar mechanism dependent on the Suns magnetic field runs down more quickly. Thus, the characteristics of the solar-activity cycle could be expected to change over a long period of time. Modern solar observations span too short a time to reveal whether present cyclical solar activity is a long-lived feature of the Sun, or merely a transient phenomenon.63. The author focuses primarily on _.A. presenting two competing scientific theories concerning solar activity and evaluating geological evidence often cited to support themB. giving a brief overview of some recent scientific developments in solar physics and assessing their impact on future climatological researchC. discussing the difficulties involved in linking terrestrial phenomena with solar activity and indicating how resolving that issue could have an impact on our understanding of solar physicsD. outlining the specific reasons why a problem in solar physics has not yet been solved and faulting the overly theoretical approach of modern physicists.64. Which of the following statements about the two models of solar activity, as they are described in the last paragraph, is accurate?A. In both models cyclical solar activity is regarded as a long-lived feature of the Sun, persisting with little change over billions of years.B. In both models the solar-activity cycle is hypothesized as being dependent on the large-scale solar magnetic field.C. In one model the Suns magnetic field is thought to play a role in causing solar activity, whereas in the other model it is not.D. In one model solar activity is presumed to be unrelated to terrestrial phenomena, whereas in the other model solar activity is thought to have observable effects on the Earth.65. According to the passage, late seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Chinese records are important for which of the following reasons?A. They suggest that the data on which the Maunder minimum was predicated were incorrect.B. They suggest that the Maunder minimum cannot be related to climate.C. They suggest that the Maunder minimum might be valid only for Europe.D. They establish the existence of a span of unusually cold weather worldwide at the time of the Maunder minimum.66. It can be inferred from the passage that studies attempting to use tree-ring thickness to locate possible links between solar periodicity and terrestrial climate are based on which of the following assumptions?A. The solar-activity cycle existed in its present form during the time period in which the tree rings grew.B. The biological mechanisms causing tree growth are unaffected by short-term weather patterns.C. Average tree-ring thickness varies from species to species.D. Tree-ring thicknesses reflect changes in terrestrial climate5.In such a changing, complex society formerly simple solutions to informational needs become complicated. Many of lifes problems which were solved by asking family members, friends or colleagues are beyond the capability of the extended family to resolve. Where to turn for expert information and how to determine which expert advice to accept are questions facing may people today.In addition to this, there is the growing mobility of people since World War II. As families move away from their stable community, their friends of many years, their extended family relationships, the informal flow of information is cut off, and with it the confidence that information will be available when needed and will be trustworthy and reliable. The almost unconscious flow of information about the simplest aspects of living can be cut off. Thus, things once learned subconsciously though the casual communications of the extended family must be consciously learned.Adding to societal changes today is an enormous stockpile of information. The individual now has more information available than any generation, and the task of finding that one piece of information relevant to his or her specific problem is complicated, time-consuming and sometimes even overwhelming.Coupled with the growing quantity of information is the development of technologies which enable the storage and delivery of more information with greater speed to more locations than has ever been possible before. Computer technology makes it possible to store vast amounts of date in machine-readable files, and to program computers to locate specific information. Telecommunications developments enable the sending of messages via television, radio, and very shortly, electronic mail to bombard people with multitudes of messages. Satellites have extended the power of communications to report events at the instant of occurrence. Expertise can be shared world wide through teleconferencing, and problems in dispute can be settled without the participants leaving their homes and/or jobs to travel to a distant conference site. Technology has facilitated the sharing of information and the storage and delivery of information, thus making more information available to more people.In this world of change and complexity, the need for information is of greatest importance. Those people who have accurat