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Model Test 2

Section I Use of English

Directions:

Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C, and D on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)

What Will Be is an impressive and visionary guide to the future, filled with insights on how information technology will transform our lives and our world in the new century.

The author, Michael Dertouzos, stands (1) ____ from many of the forecasters and commentators who bombard us daily with (2) ____ of this future. For twenty years he has led one of the world's (3) ____ research laboratories, whose members have brought the world (4) ____ computers, the ether-net, and startup companies.

As a visionary, his (5) ____ have been on the mark: In 1981, he described the (6) ____ of an Information Marketplace as "a twenty-first-century village marketplace where people and computers buy, sell, and freely exchange information and information services." That's a (7) ____ description of the Internet as we know it today.

Naturally, we do not agree on all the (8) ____ ways the new world will (9) ____ or affect us. This is as it should be. There is plenty of room for (10) ____ ideas and debate concerning the rich and promising setting ahead. What's more important is that people become (11) ____, and form their own opinions, about the changes (12) ____.

When it (13) ____ to that future world, what we do (14) ____ far outweighs our differences. New businesses will be created and new (15) ____ will be made in the (16) ____ areas of activity this book describes. More important, radical changes in hardware, software, and infrastructure will (17) ____ in ways large and small our social lives, our families, our jobs, our health, our environment, our economy, and even the (18) ____ we see for ourselves in the universe. Whoever (19) ____ the coming Information Revolution -- and that's (20) ____ all of us -- needs to know What Will Be.

1. [A] beyond

[B] behind

[C] apart

[D] out

2. [A] highlights

[B] perceptions

[C] adventures

[D] speculations

3. [A] empirical

[B] wearisome

[C] tentative

[D] pioneering

4. [A] updated

[B] fair-minded

[C] underprivileged

[D] well-defined

5. [A] transactions

[B] interpretations

[C] reflections

[D] predictions

6. [A] thought

[B] concept

[C] view

[D] angle

7. [A] desirable

[B] inaccurate

[C] monetary

[D] dismayed

8. [A] mere

[B] typical

[C] specific

[D] odd

9. [A] evolve

[B] assemble

[C] betray

[D] depress

10. [A] ingenuous

[B] pervasive

[C] democratic

[D] original

11. [A] informed

[B] acquainted

[C] confined

[D] reassured

12. [A] past

[B] inwards

[C] ahead

[D] upside-down

13. [A] adds

[B] amounts

[C] leads

[D] comes

14. [A] scorn

[B] consent

[C] encounter

[D] surpass

15. [A] dooms

[B] fortunes

[C] destinies

[D] prophecies

16. [A] lofty

[B] supreme

[C] alien

[D] novel

17. [A] reign [B]alter

[C] chock

[D] breed

18. [A] scope [B] context [C] range [D] territory

19. [A] anticipates [B] justifies [C] dominates[D] foretells

20. [A] plausibly [B] thoroughly[C] virtually[D] radically

Section II Reading Comprehension

Part A

Directions: Reading the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 points)

Text 1

Cooperative competition. Competitive cooperation. Confused? Airline alliances have travelers scratching their heads over what's going on in the skies. Some folks view alliances as a blessing to travelers, offering seamless travel, reduced fares and enhanced frequent-flyer benefits. Others see a conspiracy of big businesses, causing decreased competition, increased fares and fewer choices. Whatever your opinion, there's no escaping airline alliances; the marketing hype is unrelenting, with each of the two mega-groupings, Oneworld and Star Alliance, promoting itself as the best choice for all travelers. And, even if you turn away from their ads, chances are that they will figure in any of your travel plans. By the end of the year, Oneworld and Star alliance will between them control more than 40% of the traffic in the sky. Some pundits predict that figure will be more like 75% in 10 years.

But why, after years of often aggressive competition, have airlines decided to band together? Let's just say the timing is mutually convenient. Alliances also allow carriers to cut costs and increase profits by pooling manpower resources on the ground and code-sharing - the practice of two partners selling tickets and operating only one aircraft.

So alliances are terrific for airlines - but are they good for the passenger? Absolutely, say the airlines: think of the lounges, the joint FFP (frequent flyer programme) benefits, the round-the-world fares, and the global service networks. Then there's the promise of "seamless" travel. Sounds utopian? Peter Buecking, Cathay Pacific's director of sales and marketing, thinks that seamless travel is still evolving. "It's fair to say that these links are only in their infancy. The key to seamlessness rests in infrastructure and information sharing. We're working on this."

Critics of alliances say the much-touted benefits to the consumer are mostly pie in the sky, that alliances are all about reducing costs for the airlines, rationalizing services and running joint marketing programmes. Jeff Blyskal, associate editor of Consumer Reports magazine, says the promotional ballyhoo over alliances is much ado about nothing. "I don't see much of a gain for consumers: alliances are just a marketing gimmick. Most airlines can't even get their own connections under control. Let alone coordinate with another airline."

Blyskal believes alliances will ultimately result in decreased flight choices and increased costs for consumers. Instead of two airlines competing and each operating a flight on the same route at 70% capacity, the allied pair will share the route and run one full flight. Since fewer seats will be available, passengers will be obliged to pay more for tickets.

21. Which is the best word to describe air travelers' reaction to airline alliances?

[A] Apprehension.

[B] Puzzlement.

[C] Amazement.

[D] Disapproval.

22. One of the disadvantages of alliances foreseen by the critics is that air travel may be more expensive as a result of

[A] higher operation costs.

[B] less convenience.

[C] more joint marketing.

[D] less competition.

23. In the eyes of the critics, most airline alliances still cannot

[A] work cooperatively with another airline.

[B] increase costs for the benefit of their consumers.

[C] survive in the stiff outside competition.

[D] reduce relevant costs and augment profits.

24. When mentioning "pie in the sky" ( Para. 4), the author implies that

[A] the competition among airlines is very strong.

[B] customers have the final decision on air travels.

[C] airlines must have exaggerated certain benefits.

[D] airline alliance success depends on coordination.

25. From the text we learn that Peter Buecking is

[A] a supporter of airline alliances.

[B] an advocate for consumers' rights.

[C] an opponent of mega-groupings.

[D] a well-known frequent flyer.

Text 2

Can thinking be reducible to, or dependent upon, language habits? It would seem that many thinking situations are hardly distinguishable from the skilful use of language, although there are some others in which language is not involved. Thought cannot be simply identified with using language. It may be the case, of course, that the non-linguistic skills involved in thought can only be acquired and developed if the learner is able to use and understand language. However, this question is one which we cannot hope to answer in this book. Obviously being able to use language makes for a considerable development in all one's capacities but how precisely this comes about we cannot say.

At the common-sense level it appears that there is often a distinction between thought and the words we employ to communicate with other people. We often have to struggle hard to find words to capture what our thinking has already grasped, and when we do find words to capture what our thinking has already grasped, and when we do find words we report or describe our thinking to other people we do not merely report unspoken words and sentences. Such sentences do not always occur in thinking, and when do they are merged with vague imagery and the hint of unconscious or subliminal activities going on just out of range. Thinking, as it happens, is more like struggling, striving, or searching for something than it is like talking or reading. Words do play their part but they are rarely the only feature of thought. This observation is supported by the experiments of the Wurzburg psychologists reported in Chapter Eight who showed that intelligent adaptive responses can occur in problem-solving situations without the use of either words or images of any kind. "Set" and "determining tendencies" operate without the actual use of language in helping us to think purposefully and intelligently.'

Again the study of speech disorders due to brain injury or disease suggest that patients can think without having adequate control over their language. Some patients, for example, fail to find the names of objects presented to them and are unable to describe simple events which they witness; they even find it difficult to interpret long written notices. But they succeed in playing games of chess or draughts. They can use the concepts needed for chess playing or draughts playing but are unable to use many of the concepts in ordinary language. How they manage to do this we do not know. Yet animals such as Knohler's chimpanzees can solve problems when such animals have no language beyond a few warning cries. Intelligent or "insightful" is not dependent in the case of monkeys on language skills, presumably human beings have various capacities for thinking situations which are likewise independent of language.

21. According to the author, when we intend to describe our thoughts,

[A] our words often fail to do the job.

[B] neither words nor imagery works.

[C] our minds are choked with imageries.

[D] we concentrate on problem-solving.

22. Towards the connection between the capacity to use language and the capacities to think, the author's attitude can be best said to be that of

[A] strong disapproval.

[B] slight contempt.

[C] reserved consent.

[D] enthusiastic support.

23. To which of the following is the author most likely to agree?

[A] Words spoken are a simple identification of our thoughts.

[B] Language learning will enhance our thought capacities.

[C] Language use is an indispensable part of thinking process.

[D] Thinking may not be necessarily related to the way we talk.

24. Why are patients with speech disorders able to think without having adequate control over language?

[A] They give full play to their instincts.

[B] It still remains an unsolved problem.

[C] They utilize a different set of concepts.

[D] Speech is part of brain activities.

25. The passage is most likely a part of

[A] a psycholinguistic book.

[B] a research report.

[C] a paper on linguistics.

[D] a book review.

Text 3

As a rule, it is essential that the poor's productive capabilities be mobilized and the conditions for developing these human resources be improved. In this connection, German development policy has developed the following three approaches:

Structural reform: Structural reform is the preferred approach for reducing poverty because it eliminates the causes of poverty rather than just its symptoms. It is vital that economic, political and social conditions which can alleviate poverty be established at national and international levels. Efforts at international level focus on fair conditions for international trade and competition. At national level, the poor must be helped through structural reform such as the introduction of democratic government, options for independent private enterprise, decentralization and agricultural reform. Development policy tools for realizing such reforms include political dialogue, political advisory services, structural adjustment measures and personnel and material support for reform efforts in the government, business and administrative sectors.

Direct measures: Projects of this category are aimed at directly helping the poor and improving their living conditions or increasing their job options and earning potential. Of special importance are those projects which provide help for self-help in reducing poverty. The material support and advisory services offered by these projects reinforce the poor's will to help themselves and help enables them to lead self-sufficient lives. Typical direct aid projects include the construction of simple housing by self-help groups, the creation of a savings and loan system for the poorer segments of society and support for women's self-help organizations.

Indirect measures: A project's beneficiaries - its target group -are not only often difficult to identify clearly, they are also not necessarily all poor people. In these cases, the project in question must be integrated into one of the partner nation's overall or sector-specific policies that aim at reducing poverty. A good illustration of this type of project is the use of advisory services to improve the tax system. Advising and upgrading the qualifications of personnel working in the fiscal system can lead to increased tax revenues which could be allocated for anti-poverty measures. In keeping with this focus, German development assistance concentrates on the poorest nations and on projects to reduce poverty. In 1993, some 10 percent of the commitments Germany made for bilateral financial and technical assistance went to self-help projects aimed at reducing poverty. Basic needs projects comprised 48 percent to all projects and almost 30 percent of the commitments made for financial and technical assistance were allocated for the world's least developed countries (LDCs).

21. As stated in the text, the three approaches are aimed mainly at

[A] improving tax systems.

[B] reducing poverty.

[C] restructuring economy.

[D] fashioning new policies.

22. When mentioning the tax system, the author intends to illustrate

[A] the difficulty in identifying a project's specific recipients.

[B] the necessity of accepting government assistance.

[C] the efficiency of political advisory services involved.

[D] the misallocation of financial and technical aids .

23. It seems that the author organizes his ideas by

[A] elaborating a thesis statement.

[B] posing a sharp contrast.

[C] following an effect-cause rule.

[D] making a comparison.

24. The writer seems to believe that the success of German development policy will ultimately depend on

[A] the elimination of prejudices against the underprivileged.

[B] the confrontation with competition coming from overseas.

[C] the improvement for human resources conditions.

[D] the help rendered to the poor as advisory assistance.

25. The 3rd paragraph suggests that

[A] policies are often made regardless the will of the poor.

[B] the government should concentrate only on the poorest.

[C] promises work better than actions for self-help groups.

[D] efforts should be exerted for the poor to help themselves.

Text 4

The 1990s have witnessed a striking revival of the idea that liberal democratic political systems are the best basis for international peace. Western statesmen and scholars have witnessed a worldwide process of democratization, and ambiguously see it as a sounder basis for peace than anything we have had in the past.

Central to the vision of a peaceful democratic world has been the assumption that liberal democracies do not fight each other; that they may and frequently do get into fights with illiberal states, but not with other countries that are basically similar in their political systems. The theory appeals to political leaders and scholars as well.

Yet it is doubtful whether the proposition is strong enough to bear the vast weight of generalization that has been placed on it. Among the many difficulties it poses, two stand out: first, there are many possible exceptions to the rule that democracies do not fight each other; and second, there is much uncertainty about why democracies have, for the most part, not fought each other.

Liberal Peace, Liberal War: American politics and international security by John M. Owen is an attempt to explain the twin phenomena of liberal peace and liberal war.

Owen's analysis in the book strongly suggests that political leaders on all sides judged a given foreign country largely on the basis of its political system; and this heavily influenced decisions on whether or not to wage war against it. However, he also shows that military factors, including calculations of the cost of going to war, were often influential in tipping the balance against war. In other words, democratic peace does not mean the end of power politics.

Owen hints at, but never addresses directly, a sinister aspect of democratic peace theory: its assumption that there would be peace if only everybody else was like us. This can lead only too easily to attempts to impose the favored system on benighted foreigners by force - regardless of the circumstances and sensibilities that make the undertaking hazardous.

There are several grounds on which the book's thesis might be criticized. The most obvious is that some twentieth-century experience goes against the argument that liberal states ally with others, above all, because they perceive them as fellow liberals. In our own time, several liberal democracies have maintained long and close relations with autocracies. However, Owen's argument for a degree of solidarity between liberal states provides at least part of the explanation for the continuation and even expansion of NATO in the post-Cold War era.

21. According to Owen's analysis, liberal democracies will most likely wage wars against those whom they deem as

[A] radically dissimilar to them.

[B] a rival to their existence.

[C] easily accessible by force.

[D] potential alien terrorists.

22. It seems that the author is most critical of

[A] most practitioners of power politics.

[B] NATO's continual expansions.

[C] advocates of democratic peace theory.

[D] Owen's conservative standpoints.

23. In proposing the notion that liberal peace and liberal war, its advocates focus on

[A] its possible consequence.

[B] its main characteristics.

[C] its solid evidence.

[D] its theoretical basis.

24. The expression "liberal peace" (Para. 4) can best be interpreted as

[A] "the end of power politics."

[B] "liberal states do not fight each other."

[C] "liberal states ally with others."

[D] "the best basis for international peace."

25. The overall attitude of the author towards the book by Owen is

[A] objective.

[B] doubtful.

[C] hostile.

[D] positive.

Part B (Option 2)

Directions:

The following paragraphs are given in a wrong order. For Questions 41-45, you are required to reorganize these paragraphs into a coherent article by choosing from the list A-G to fill in each numbered box. The first and the last paragraphs have been placed for you in Boxes. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)

[A] According to conventional wisdom, the rapid rise in the number of students attending college is cause for national celebration. But our research suggests that, instead, it may be cause for national concern. Why? Because for many young people, the "one way to win" paradigm is not realistic, given their academic talents and the labor-market projections. Students ranking below the top third of their high-school graduating class too often fail to earn a bachelor's degree if they enroll in college. The cost of such failure - in both dollars and unmet expectations - is rising and beginning to erode public confidence in our system of higher education.

[B] This indiscriminate advice is dangerous, because it leads too many teenagers to failure, disappointment, and debt. For example, only 37 per cent of the high-school graduates who plan to go to college score in the highest of the three levels of the reading test administered by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. And our analysis of about 6,000 high-school transcripts reveals that only 30 per cent of high-school graduates have completed a rigorous sequence of courses (including two years of algebra, a laboratory science, and a foreign language) and have earned at least a B average and a combined score of 1,000 on the version of the Scholastic Assessment Test used before 1995.

[C] In a recent survey of high-school seniors conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, 85 per cent of the respondents said they planned to get a bachelor's degree. And, although 20 years ago only 45 per cent of high-school graduates went on to college, today 68 per cent actually matriculate, with the majority enrolling in four-year colleges or two-year programs designed to allow them to transfer to four-year institutions.

[D] Those findings are consistent with claims by the National Association for Development Educators, made up of college faculty members who teach remedial courses, that one of every two college students requires remedial course work in math, science, or English. A study released by the California State University system showed that 49 per cent of its entering freshmen in 1994 were not ready for college-level English courses, and that 54 per cent were not ready to enroll in college-level mathematics. While supporters defend remedial courses as providing a second chance, we believe that admitting students who are unlikely to succeed in college is cruel not only to those students but also to the parents who pay their tuition.

[E] Teenagers' acceptance of the idea that they must get a college degree stems partly from the advice they get in high school. According to N.C.E.S. data, the proportion of high-school sophomores who reported that their teachers or guidance counselors had recommended that they go to college grew to 66 per cent in 1992 from 32 per cent in 1982. Even among those who ranked academically in the lowest two quartiles of a national sample of high-school sophomores, 57 per cent reported that they had been advised to go to college.

[F] The Higher Education Research Institute has found that students with a C average in high school were six times as likely to drop out of college as those with an A average. Those with combined S.A.T. scores of 800 or less who enrolled in college were three times as likely not to graduate as those with scores of 1,000 or better.

[G] When today's high-school seniors are asked what they plan to do after graduation, most say that they intend to get a bachelor's degree. They have been told that their generation has only "one way to win" - by getting at least a bachelor's degree, in the hope that it will eventually lead to a professional job.

Part C

Directions: Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese. Your translation should be written clearly on ANSWER SHEET 2. (10 points)

People in the United States in the nineteenth century were haunted by the prospect that unprecedented change in the nation's economy would bring social chaos. (46) In the years following 1820, after several decades of relative stability, the economy entered a period of sustained and extremely rapid growth that continued to the end of the nineteenth century. (47) Accompanying that growth was a structural change that featured increasing economic diversification and a gradual shift in the nation's labor force from agriculture to manufacturing and other nonagricultural pursuits.

Although the birth rate continued to decline from its high level of the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, the population roughly doubled every generation during the rest of the nineteenth centuries. (48) As the population grew, its makeup also changed. Massive waves of immigration brought new ethnic groups into the country. Geographic and social mobility -- downward as well as upward -- touched almost everyone. Local studies indicate that nearly three-quarters of the population -- in the North and South, in the emerging cities of the Northeast, and in the restless rural counties of the West -- changed their residence each decade. (49) As a consequence, historian David Donald has written, "Social atomization affected every segment of society," and it seemed to many people that "all the recognized values of orderly civilization were gradually being eroded."

Rapid industrialization and increased geographic mobility in the nineteenth century had special implications for women because these changes tended to magnify social distinctions. As the roles men and women played in society became more rigidly defined, so did the roles they played in the home. (50) In the context of extreme competitiveness and dizzying social change, the household hosted many of its earlier functions and the home came to serve as a harbor of peace and order. As the size of families decreased, the roles of husband and wife became more clearly differentiated than ever before. In the middle class especially, men participated in the productive economy while women ruled the home and served as the custodians of civility and culture. The intimacy of marriage that was common in the earlier periods was rent, and a gulf that at times seemed unbridgeable was created between husbands and wives.

Section III Writing

Part A

51. Directions:

Directions: Fenghua is one of your good friends and schoolmates. He has been addicted to smoking for a long time. During a lecture this week, you learned the great dangers of heavy smoking, and now you decide to write a letter to him. Your letter should be based on the following outline:

1) express your regret to hear the news,

2) try to persuade him to quit the habit,

3) and give him your best wishes.

You should write about 100 words. Do not sign your own name at the end of the letter. Use "Li Ming" instead .You do not need to write the address.

Part B

52. Directions:

A. Study the following picture carefully and write an essay of about 160 - 200 words.

B. Your essay must be written clearly on the ANSWER SHEET 1.

C. Your essay should meet the requirements below:

1. Describe the picture

2. And give your comments

科技建造新的长城

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