四川大学2005年博士研究生入学英语考试题 Z'~yUo=
Passage 1 :}Tw+S5
As the horizons of science have expanded, two main groups of scientists have emerged. One is the pure scientist; the other, the applied scientist. }#/,nJm'
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. j&.MT@
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 @]H:=Q'gj
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. Ex
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1. The applied scientist ______. 1cyX9X
A. is not always interested in practical problems B. provides the "gD)Uis
basic knowledge for practice 0 pHqNlb
C. applies the results of research to practice D. does original U'st\Dt
research to understand the basic laws of nature ncluA~ 8
2. The example given in the passage illustrates how ___. J['paHSF
A. pure science operates independently of applied science B. the applied -VESe}c:nQ
scientist discovers the basic laws of nature P{eL;^I
C. applied science defines all the areas in which basic research is done D. #`C;@#xr
applied science suggests problems for the basic scientist p*rBT,'
3. The problem discussed in the second paragraph called for____. Uu9\;f
A. selecting the best hear-resistant metal from existing metals `um#}
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B. developing a turbine wheel capable of generating heat up to 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit .VVY]>bJg@
C. developing metals and alloys that would withstand terrific temperatures %p}_4+[;
D. causing the jet engine to operate at higher temperatures Ch`XwLY9
4. Finer mad finer subdivision in the field of science has resulted in_____. b:Lp`8Du
A. greater independence of each science Kc*h@#`~oL
B. greater interdependence of all the various sciences zLlu%Oc
C. the eradication of the need for specialists D. the need for only t)LD-%F
on classification of scientists WlF"[mU-
5. "The horizons of science have expanded" means that____. CUT D]:\
A. the horizon changes its size from year to year B. science has KAm v7
developed more fields of endeavor d_*'5Eia6
C. scientists have made great progress in studying the horizon nZa.3/7dJ
D. scientists can see further out into space K*Zf^g
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chow Passage 2 uh3%}2'P
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". RV5X0
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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 Y25S:XHk9
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 TmG$Cjf84
right is even more willing than the radical left to restrict and weaken the Bill of Rights. JS r& S[
The author does not minimize the injustices concealed by the "melting pot" dream. The Disuniting of America is both academic and personal, forceful in argument, balanced in judgment. It is a book that will no doubt anger some readers, but it will surely make all of them think again. The winner of Pulitzer Prizes for history and for biography, an authoritative voice of American liberalism, Schlesinger is uniquely positioned to bring bold answers and healing wisdom to this passionate debate over who we are and what we should become. KFdTw{GlJ7
6. According to Schlesinger, the United States is_____. 0b9K/a%sQv
A. a melting pot ]'=]=o~4
B. a nation with diverse cultures held together by the democratic process ^#2w::Ds}!
C. a federation of ethnic and racial communities [k.|iCD
D. a nation with various ethnic and racial groups s_-G`xT>{
7. We can infer from the passage that Schlesinger______. zlZ$t{[,
A. advocates the assimilation of different cultures into one nationhood 3'6%P_S
B. prefers multiculturalism to monoculturalism .v%H%z~Rl#
C. gives full support to the emerging cult of ethnicity *{8Kb>D
D. holds that each racial group should keep its distinct identity O emi }
8. The author wants to tell us that America_____. 6wx;grt'Z
A. is experiencing a crisis of nationhood B. is trying to restrict the Bill of Right ~;k-/Z"
C. has ended its history of racial prejudice D. has tried to obstruct intellectual freedom 4bqi&h3
9. According to the author, Schlesinger's book will____. j2SJ4tB /
A. cause anger among the radical right B. cause anger among the radical left K O "U5v
C. put an end to the culture wars in America D. provoke thinking among the readers bsy\L|wd
10. This passage is most probably taken from __. -?`^^v
A. a history book B. a book introduction C. a book review D. a journal of literary criticism a}ogNx
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chow Passage 3 72R|zR
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. 0P^RciC f
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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.
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11. As El Sino builds, _____ . x zu)``?
A. the normal westward trade winds weaken B. the normal eastward trade winds weaken J3gJSRT@P
C. the normal westward trade winds strengthen D. the normal eastward trade winds strengthen U|.kAI*
12. Which of the following statements is true? 1=gE,k5H
A. El Nino results from droughts, floods and bushfires. V
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B. El Nino brought rain to most areas that were affected, ?U.+SQ
C. When El Nino appeared, some of the world's rainforests were attacked by droughts. hu0z):>y
D. Most areas that were affected by El Nino got droughts. os0fwv
13. Once El Nino even played a role in the political world. What was it? P_6oMR
A. President Suharto was overthrown by the drought caused by El Nino. H)z}6[`
B. El Nino caused riots that led to the downfall of President Suharto. 2 %UzCK
C. President Suharto resigned because of the drought caused by El Nino. xX$'u"dsA
D. The drought caused by El Nino together with the economic crisis prevailing in Indonesia helped to overthrow President Suharto. }M-^A{C\%
14. The phrase "in a row" in the last paragraph means____. P}hHx<L
A. continuously B. in a line C. awfully D. now and then |N, KA|Gdq
15. The writer of this passage is most likely to be____. jsB%RvX
A. an Australia observer B. a British national C. an American geographer =vJ:R[Ilw
D. an Indonesia journalist 3y?I^ .B
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chow Passage 4 Z6C!-a
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. E{x<P0 ;
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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. VbX+`CwH
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." & -L$B
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. &$$KC?!w
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16. Which of the following symptoms can be observed in a person who suffers from the Huntington's disease?
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A. He cannot remember what he has done but can remember trying to learn. d [K71
B. He cannot do something new but he can remember doing it. SQ&nQzL
C. He suffers from a bad memory and lack of motor skills. j#4 Iu&YJ
D. He suffers from a poor basal ganglia and has intact explicit memory. C:z+8w t
17. According to the passage, which of the following memories has nothing to do with implicit memory? oA/[>\y
A. Associating a signal with an action. B. Recognizing of new features. L_4c~4
C. Focusing on new environment. D. Remembering a familiar face of a friend. ,',
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18. Which of the following may happen to a patient who suffered from damages to 4-j3&(
his explicit memory? u NmbR8Mx
A. When he is in a new environment, he is always frightened. DpD19)ouy
B. When he plays football, he cannot learn new tricks. |T`ZK?B+u
C. When he sees a friend, it's hard for him to remember his name. U'4j+vUc
D. When he finds a hammer, he cannot tell anything about it. 8w4-Ud*$i
19. The word "extract" in the second paragraph means_____. gR5
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A. obtain B. remove C. pull D. derive i28WgDG)
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20. We can draw a conclusion from the passage that_____. .,({&L