天津大学研究生英语考试2011年期末.doc

ENGLISH PROFICIENCY EXAMFOR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR POSTGRADUATE STUDENTSTIANJIN UNIVERSITYJan. 6th, 2011PART 1: Vocabulary (20%)Directions: In this part, there are 20 incomplete sentences. For each sentence there are 4 choices marked A, B, C, and D. Choose the one that best completes the sentence. Mark your answer on the ANSWER SHEET with a single line through the center.1. The population of the United Kingdom is _ to increase by over 4 million to 65.6 million in 2018. A. projectedB. expandedC. committedD. assigned2. Its true that humanity has seen a _ of crises, wars and atrocities, but this negative side is offset by advances in technology and cultural exchanges.A. lineB. quantityC. setD. succession3. Alcohol is one of the most commonly abused substances, and men are up to twice as _ to develop alcoholism as women. A. subjectB. likelyC. susceptibleD. responsible4. Fires in homes and offices could be _ more efficiently using technology that predicts how a blaze will spread.A. manipulatedB. solvedC. tackledD. operated5. An exclusive focus on forests - _ the entire landscape - could lead to inequitable and destructive outcomes for the poor in developing countries.A. in relation toB. as opposed toC. in case ofD. on behalf of6. Increasing variability in year-to-year rainfall and more frequent extreme events will change ecosystems and speed up the _ of soil and water resources. A. degradationB. recessionC. civilizationD. utilization7. Sedentary behaviors such as TV viewing and screen time involving computer use, videos and video games appear to _ elevated blood pressure in children, independent of body composition.A. be associated withB. come up withC. get involved in D. in charge of8. While authors up all night to get their vision into words have been around for ages, computers and mobile phones have _ that lifestyle to others.A. led toB. opened upC. paid offD. drawn on9. The heat radiating off roadways has long been a factor in explaining why city temperatures are often _ warmer than nearby suburban or rural areas.A. adequatelyB. immediatelyC. accuratelyD. considerably10. Using wind energy where the wind blows strongest makes perfect _ as long as the energy can be readily transported to where it is needed.A. senseB. reasonC. judgmentD. conclusion11. A team of scientists from the University of Sheffield have developed an innovative device which will make the production of alternative bio-fuels more energy_.A. diverseB. effectiveC. delicateD. efficient12. A majority of American citizens are now becoming _ of the claim that our carbon footprints, resulting from our use of fossil fuels, are going to lead to climatic calamities. A. skepticalB. doubtfulC. indifferentD. innocent13. Robots are manmade machines intended to _ human and animal behavior.A. replicateB. duplicateC. confirmD. identify14. Today, people are drawing so much water from below that they are adding enough of it to the oceans (mainly by evaporation, then precipitation) to _ about 25 percent of the annual sea level rise across the planet, the researchers find.A. sum upB. attribute toC. bring aboutD. account for15. New inventions, if handy and inexpensive, will _ be accepted by society.A. accidentallyB. eventuallyC. incidentallyD. evidently16. As primary caregivers, parents are often believed to have a strong influence on childrens eating behaviors. However, previous findings on parent-child _ in dietary intakes are mixed.A. identityB. resemblanceC. deviationD. alternation17. Employees who telecommute the majority of the work week are more satisfied with their jobs compared to those working mostly in the office because working remotely _ more stress than it creates.A. alleviatesB. restrainsC. incursD. involves18. While the act of selecting an everyday writing utensil seems to be a simple enough task, scientists have found that it actually could shed _ on complex cultural differences.A. shineB. pictureC. lightD. profile19. Designers of robot pets are fighting a never-ending battle with consumers to provide entertaining and realistic gadgets that _ human interaction in ever more nuanced ways, mimicking the behavior of real pet animals or even people.A. respond toB. interfere withC. ward offD. give up20. The disposal of nuclear _ has always been a concern of health-sensitive people.A. rubbishB. wasteC. trashD. litterPART 2: Cloze (15%)Directions: In this part of the test, youll read an incomplete passage with 15 blanks. Read the passage carefully, and choose the best answer from choices marked A, B, C and D. Then on your ANSWER SHEET, find the number of the question and mark your answer with a single line through the center.There are many individuals who would feel that they have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their daily life. Everyone has the right to respect for his or her private life, property and correspondence. An employee is also _21_ the comfort and ordinary enjoyment of his or her private life without unreasonable _22_ by his or her employer. The notion of privacy derives from the assumption _23_ all information about a person is their own, for that person to communicate or retain as he or she sees fit. In the computerized workplace, _24_ that the most popular use of the internet is sending and receiving emails, many employees _25_ view use of their employers email system as akin to making a telephone call, and thus feel the email messages they send on their companys internal system should be _26_ intrusion.Often employers will stress to their employees that _27_ leaving their desks, they should not leave their computers turned on as that may allow others to _28_ their files or emails. Such a comment may give them a wrong impression of some privacy or security over their email as there is _29_ their lockers and desk drawers. They would feel they have a legitimate expectation of privacy in relation to their communications.Even having passwords can give employees a false _30_ of some privacy over their email, because many times they _31_ to safeguard their passwords and not give them to anyone. Many employees would naively _32_ that by using their password, they would have control and they could prevent any _ 33_ access to their online communications.Permanency of email is another concern. Most employees wrongly think that _34_ they delete their email it is gone forever. The fact is that emails are hard to destroy as most electronic documents are backed up and _35_. The delete command does not make a message disappear; it can still be retrieved from back-up systems. Email messages can easily be intercepted and read by system managers, operators and employers.21.A. entitled toB. titled toC. entitled withD. titled with22A. disturbanceB. interruptionC. interferenceD. disruption23.A. whoseB. thatC. of whichD. which24.A. to considerB. consider25.C. having consideredA. greatlyC. partlyD. consideringB. wronglyD. rightly26.A. free fromB. similar toC. away fromD. close to27.A. asB. when28.C. uponA. accessibleC. accessible toD. onceB. accessD. access to29.A. forB. fromC. withD. in30.A. assuranceB. insuranceC. obscurityD. security31.A. have toldB. have been toldC. were toldD. told32.A. assumeB. maintainC. undertakeD. sustain33A. unauthorizedB. authorizedC. piratedD. forbidden34.A. asB. becauseC. ifD. even if35.A. recoveredC. recalledB. recoverableD. recallingPart 3: Reading Comprehension (40%)Directions: In this part of the test, there are 4 passages. After each passage there are 5 questions or unfinished statements followed by 4 choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that can best answer the question or complete the statement, and then on your ANSWER SHEET, find the number of the question and mark your answer with a single line through the center.Passage 1 We dont need to tell you how competitive todays job market is. You know that companies around the world are competing against one another to offer quality products and services at the lowest possible costs. Companies are sending jobs overseas if they can cut costs by doing so. Alternatively, they are simply shedding jobs by the thousands in order to stay profitable.In many places, there are far fewer locally based businesses that are thriving or even surviving. Many have either been acquired by out-of-town owners or have been put out of business by large multinational corporations with daunting economies of scale, such as Walmart. Unfortunately, many of these larger corporations dont share the same sense of responsibility, loyalty, and commitment to their employees and the local communities in which they do businessunlike their former owners. Regardless of what the corporate mission statements say, many employers dont value their employees as individuals as they once did.In the past, company CEOs and presidents may have known all of their employeesand even their employees family memberson a personal basis. Now its every employee for himself or herself. Often, the pace of business is too fastand job turnover is too highfor anyone to really get to know anyone else. This is the reality that you must face as a job seeker.Generations ago, you were considered a job hopper if you didnt stay at a company for at least 10 years. In todays workforce, getting a new job every two to three years is more of the rule than the exception. As sad as it may seem, all employees are replaceable, and, eventually, most employees will find themselves replaced in one way or another. If not by technology itself, then by amore tech-savvy generation with skill sets that have naturally evolved to fit current job markets.The days when companies valued and rewarded employee loyalty above all else are largely gone. Many employers have gravitated to an extreme fixation on bottom-line results. If you dont produce, youre gone. If you are uncertain as to where a company places its values, its best to operate under this assumption.In fact, many executives at todays largest companies view their employees as disposable commodities, regardless of the impact that has on employee morale. If you have not yet experienced such a climate within your professional career, dont assume that it doesnt exist: Assume youve just been lucky.36. What does the passage mainly discuss? A. Businesses face more and more competition.B. Many local companies go out of business.C. Many large companies have no sense of duty.D. Employees are less valued than before.37. Which of the following can best substitute the word “shed” (Paragraph 1)?A. slashB. createC. dropD. throw38. Which of the following is NOT a reason that fewer businesses are thriving?A. International competition to cut costs.B. Acquisition by non-local businesses.C. Daunting multinational corporations.D. Outsourcing domestic jobs overseas.39. According to the passage, company CEOs and presidents may not know all of their employees because _.A. they put a high value on efficiencyB. job hoppers stay for no more than 10 yearsC. employees are easily replaceableD. many Employees leave within 2 or 3 years40. Which of the following is NOT true?A. Employer-employee relation is one on a personal basis.B. Job markets now favor tech-savvy generations.C. Employee loyalty is a thing of the past.D. Employee morale is adversely influenced.Passage 2 Food waste is a huge issue in America, especially in light of the growing divide between the profligate rich and the hungry poor. According to the U.S. Department of Agricultures Food Loss Project, we throw away more than 25 percentsome 25.9 million tonsof all the food we produce for domestic sale and consumption. A 2004 University of Arizona study pegs the figure at closer to 50 percent, finding that Americans squander some $43 billion annually on wasted food. Lead researcher Timothy Jones reported that on average, U.S. households waste 14 percent of their food purchases. He estimates that a family of four tosses out $590 per year in meat, fruits, vegetables and grain products alone. Once this food gets to the landfill, it then generates methane, a greenhouse gas 23 times as potent as carbon dioxide in trapping heat within our atmosphere. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, landfills account for 34 percent of all methane emissions in the U.S.meaning that the sandwich you made and then didnt eat yesterday is increasing your personaland our collectivecarbon footprint. Furthermore, researchers at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) concluded in a 2009 study that each year a quarter of U.S. water consumption and over 300 million barrels of oil (four percent of U.S. oil consumption) go into producing and distributing food that ultimately ends up in landfills. They add that per-capita food waste has increased by half since 1974, and suggest that the U.S. obesity epidemic may be the result of a push effect of increased food availability and marketing to Americans unable to match their food intake with the increased supply of cheap food. In spite of all this, environmentalists are optimistic that Americans can reduce their food waste. For one, restaurants and markets are increasingly finding outletsincluding soup kitchens feeding the poor and farms looking for cheap animal feedfor food they would otherwise toss. Some communities now pick up and centrally compost food waste from commercial and residential buildings and put the resulting nutrient-rich soil to use in municipal projects or for sale to the public. And a few enterprising cities now have waste-to-energy technologies that extract methane from landfills for use as fuel.An extreme reaction to the food waste issue is freeganism, a movement of people who live on the food cast off by others. These dumpster divers share, in the words of movement founder Warren Oakes, an anti-consumeristic ethic about eating and not only avoid creating waste but live off that caused by others. Going freegan might be a bit much for most of us, but we can all take action to minimize food waste. 41.From the first paragraph, we may know that food waste in America _.A. represents a widening gap between rich and poorB. comprises 50% of the American food consumption C. incurs great losses to American household expensesD. causes serious concern among the general public42.The word “squander” (Paragraph 1) is closest in meaning to _.A. tossB. wasteC. expandD. generate 43.It can be inferred that methane _.A. may contribute much to the climate changing emissionsB. mostly results from the discarded food in the landfillsC. is potentially beneficial to the environment and climateD. serves as the calculator of human carbon footprint44.Researchers at NIDDK may agree that in the U.S. _.A. excess consumption of water and oil leads to progressive increase of food wasteB. addressing the oversupply of food could help curb obesity and conserve energy C. the rather low food price underlies the obesity epidemic and more trashed food D. the best way to reduce the waste of natural resources is to take in more food 45.According to the passage, all of the following can be said about “freeganism” EXCEPT_.A. it is a lifestyle aiming to reduce food wasteB. the followers of it may oppose over-consumptionC. the ecology will benefit from the practice of itD. most Americans are happy to adopt it in lifePassage 3 Modern American cities bear a powerful physical imprint of automobiles and other motorized vehicles. It is estimated that as much as one half of a modern American citys land area is dedicated to streets and roads, parking lots, service stations, driveways, signals and traffic signs, automobile-oriented businesses, car dealerships, and more. Equally significant, space allocated for other forms of transportation ultimately shrank or disappeared. For example, sidewalksnormally considered essential to separate pedestrians from various transportation modeswere less often constructed along many urban roads and streets in the automobile era. Walking seemed increasingly incidental in moving people from place to place. Bicycle lanes, quite common in several European cities, were late-comers or non-existent in American cities as competitive forms of transportation were squeezed out by an increasing dependence on cars. Nothing better illustrated the growing dominance of motorized vehicles than its imprint on the land-use patterns of cities. A parking study conducted in California stated that about 59 percent of the ground area in Los Angeles central business district in 1960 was devoted to streets and parking, with about 35 percent for roads, streets, alleys, and sidewalks, and 24 percent for parking lots and garages not included in buildings with other purposes. During roughly the same period, acreage devoted to streets and parking in other urban cores was similar in scale or slightly less. Ironically, motor traffic in the central cities tended to require less street space than was necessary for other forms of transportation before the rise of the automobile. Urban freeways, for example, require less than 3 percent of the land in the areas they serve. On the other hand, as automobiles and trucks ventured into areas not served by public transit, the need for more streets necessitated more construction. Also street and parking data do not include businesses or services devoted who