同济大学2006年博士研究生入学考试试题

同济大学2006年博士研究生入学考试试题
编号：101 考试科目：英语
答题要求：答案一律写在答题纸上。
I. Vocabulary (10%)
Directions：There are 20 incomplete sentences is this part. For each sentence there are four
choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the One answer that best completes the sentence. Then
put a “√” in the corresponding place on the Answer Sheet.
1. How can personal income tax be levied to ______ as many as possible while at the same
time ensuring State finances do not suffer too much？.
A. interest B. benefit C. profit D. concern
2. To fund the ______ event and also promote the marketing value of the National Games, the
organizing committee set up the Marketing Development Department (MDD).
A. beneficent B. expensive C. costly D. luxurious
3. Japanese workers still put in an impressive 42 hours each week, but they are ______ by the
South Koreans and Singaporeans who spend an average 46 hours at the grindstone.
A. outdone B. outweighed C. outrun D. outrivaled
4. This is an alarming realization as natural resources and the environment are being a
degraded and ____ at a record pace.
A. wasted B. reconstructed C. destructed D. reversed
5. The elements of nature must be reckoned with in any military campaign. Napoleon and
Hitler both underestimated the _____ of the Russian winter.
A. severity B. consequence C. influence D. threat
6. The company, EDS, is smart enough to _____its 90,000-person workforce into independent
microteams that work directly with individual clients on creative business solutions.
A. break out B. break off C. break from D. break down
7. Most environmental _____ from climate changes to freshwater and forest habitat loss —
have become markedly worse.
A. symptoms B. highlights C. indicators D. symbols
8. What we call nature is, _____, the sum of the changes made by all the various creatures and
natural forces in their intricate actions and influences upon each other and upon their
places.
A. in common sense B. from a sense C. by the sense D. in a sense
9. Although the "on line" life style has dominated the majority of city youth, most people in
the remote countryside still think Internet or something is ____ to their life.
A. unconcerned B. irrelevant C. inseparable D. inaccessible
10. ____ near-perfect English language skills, the students were keen to explore every aspect
of Australian culture, from Aussie eating customs to family and student life, popular culture,
the natural landscape and the ever-popular Australian native animals
A. Possessing B. Acquiring C. Apprehending D. Interpreting
11. Telephones save the feet and endless amounts of time. This is due partly to the fact that the
telephone service is superb here, ____ the postal service is less efficient.
A. where B. since C. that D. whereas
12. The board of directors have already discussed the subject ____ in the previous meetings
and they will handle it in all its aspects.
A. in place B. at length C. on end D. off and on
13. Reflecting on our exploration, we also discovered that people will exploit the newness,
vagueness, and breadth of the information Marketplace to support their wishes and
predilections, ____ they may be.
A. whatsoever B. whatever C. whichever D. which
14. The World Bank is taking steps to ____ its lending to reducing poverty in the Third World
Countries.
A. orient B. tailor C. adapt D. adjust
15. Total investments for this year reached $56 million, and to put this into ____ investments
this year will double those made in 1997.
A. sight B. vision C. perspective D. horizon
16. The year of 776 B.C. is considered to be the founding date of the Olympic Games in
ancient Greece. The Games lasted more than 11 centuries ____ they were banned in 393
A.D.
A. when B. after C. as D. until
17. As did his ____ Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein, and Henry Ford, Thomas Edison
profoundly transformed the Western World.
A. contemporaries B. part-owners C. companions D. accomplices
18. In a world where information is a flood — ____ to everyone, and where nothing is secret
or proprietary — the only organizations and managers who will thrive are those who can
quickly wade into the water, harness what they need, and then add value to it through
speedy, innovative business decisions.
A. acceptable B. available C. accessible D. attainable
19. The car pollutes, but advances in fuel quality and efficiency, and in microprocessed engine
technology, have radically cut ______.
A. releases B. emissions C. poisons D.
contamination
20. If humans use up too much soil - which they have often done and are doing - then they
will starve down to the carrying capacity of their habitat. This is nature's "indifferent"
______.
A. flexibility B. justice C. plasticity D. sensibility
II. Reading Comprehension (50%)
Directions: Read the following passages and chooses from the choices marked A, B, C, D that
best complete or answer the questions after each passage. Mark your answer on the answer
sheet.
Passage One
Throughout the history of life, species of living creatures have made use of chemical
energy by the slow combination of certain chemicals with oxygen within their cells. The
process is analogous to combustion, but is slower and much more delicately controlled.
Sometimes use is made of energy available in the bodies of stronger species as when a remora
hitches a ride on a shark or a human being hitches an ox to a plough.
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Inanimate sources of energy are sometimes used when species allow themselves to be
carried or moved by wind or by water currents. In those cases, though, the inanimate source of
energy must be accepted at the place and time that it happens to be and in the amount that
happens to exist.
The human use of fire involved an inanimate source of energy that was portable and
could be used wherever desired. It could be ignited or extinguished at will and could be used
when desired. It could be kept small or fed till it was large, and could be used in the quantities
desired.
The use of fire made it possible for human beings, evolutionarily equipped for mild
weather only, to penetrate the temperate zones. It made it possible for them to survive cold
nights and long winters, to achieve security against fire-avoiding predators, and to roast meat
and grain, thus broadening their diet and limiting the danger of bacterial and parasitic
infestation.
Human beings multiplied in number and that meant there were more brains to plan future
advances. With fire, life was not quite so hand-to-mouth; and there was more time to put
those brains to work on something other than immediate emergencies.
In short, the use of fire put into motion an accelerating series of technological advances.
About 10 000 years ago, in the Middle East, a series of crucial advances were made.
These included the development of agriculture, herding, cities, pottery, metallurgy, and
writing. The final step, that of writing, took place in the Middle East about 5 000 yea years
ago.
This complex of changes stretching over a period of 5 000 years introduced what we call
civilization, the name we give to a settled life, to a complex society in which human beings
are specialized for various tasks.
To be sure other animals can build complex societies and can be composed of different
types of individuals specialized for different tasks. This is most marked in such social insects
as bees, ants, and termites, where individuals are in some cases physiologically specialized to
the point where they cannot eat, but must be fed by others. Some species of ants practice
agriculture and grow small mushroom gardens, while others herd aphids; still others war on
and enslave smaller species of ants. And, of course, the beehive and the ant or termite colony
have many points of analogy with the human city.
The most complex nonhuman societies those of the insects, are, however, the result of
instinctive behaviour, the guidelines of which are built into the genes and nervous systems of
the individuals at birth. Nor does as any nonhuman society make use of fire. With
insignificant exceptions, insect societies are run by the energy produced by the insect body. It
is fair, then, to consider human societies as basically different from other societies and to
attribute what we call civilization to human societies only.
21. Which of the following is NOT stated in the passage?
A. The process of species' making chemical energy is similar to the process of
combustion.
B. The process of species' making chemical energy is less complicated than the process of
combustion.
C. Fire is a portable, inanimate source of energy.
D. Man sometimes makes use of energy available in the bodies of stronger species.
22. From the passage we know _______.
A. fire made human beings free from bacterial and parasitic infestation.
B. fire enabled human beings to deal with immediate emergencies more efficiently.
C. fire made some animals frightened.
D. fire helped human beings change their eating habits completely.
23. Judging from the context, the phrase "hand-to-mouth" (Para 5) most probably
means_______.
A. adventurous B. unhappy C. wandering D. unstable
24. The point of similarity between a complex, human society and a complex bee society is
____.
A. the division of labor B. the use of fire
C. the development of industry D. the development of a written language
25 .According to the passage, insect societies ___.
A. are governed by the instincts of insects
B. are not fundamentally different from human societies
C. are composed of individuals of the same type
D. are as not warlike as human beings
Passage Two
Modem technology may not have improved the world all that much, but it certainly has
made life noisier. Unmuffled motorcycles, blaring car alarms, and roving boom boxes come
first, second, and third on my list of most obnoxious noise offenders, but everyone could
come up with his own version of aural hell—if he could just find a quiet spot to ponder the
matter.
Yet what technology has done, other technology is now starting to undo, using computer
power, to zap those ear-splitting noises into silence. Previously silence-seekers had little
recourse except to stay inside, close the windows, and plug their ears. Remedies like these are
quaintly termed “passive" systems, because they place physical barriers against the unwanted
sound. Now computer technology is producing a far more effective "active" system, which
doesn't just contain, deflect, or mask the noise but annihilates it electronically.
The system works by countering the offending noise with -"anti-noise", a somewhat
sinister-sounding term that calls to mind antimatter, black holes, and other Popular Science
mindbenders but, that actually refers to something quite simple. Just as a wave on a pond is
flattened when it merges with a trough that is its exact opposite (or mirror image), so can a
sound wave be negated by meeting its opposite.
This general theory of sound cancellation has been around since the 1930s. In the fifties
and sixties it made for a kind of magic trick among laboratory acousticians playing around
with the first clunky mainframe computers. The advent of low-cost, high-power
microprocessors has made active noise-cancellation systems a commercial possibility, and a
handful of small electronics firms in the United States and abroad are bringing the first ones
onto the silence market.
Silence buffs might be hoping that the noise-canceling apparatus will take the shape of
the 44 Magnum wielded by Dirty Harry, but in fact active sound control is not quite that
active. The system might more properly be described as reactive, in that it responds to sound
waves already headed toward human ears. In the configuration that is usual for such systems
microphones detect the noise signal and send it to the system's microprocessor, which almost
instantly models it and creates its inverse for loudspeakers to fire at the original. Because the
two sounds occupy the same range of frequencies and tones, the inverse sounds exactly like
the noise it is meant to eliminate: the anti-noise canceling Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is
heard as Beethoven's Fifth. The only difference is that every positive pressure produced on
the air by the orchestra is matched by a negative pressure produced by the computer, and
every negative pressure is matched by a positive, thereby silencing the sound. The system is
most effective as a kind of muffler, in which microphones, microprocessor, and loudspeaker
are all in a unit encasing the device that produces the sound, stifling it at its source. But it can
work as a headset, too, negating the sound at the last moment before it disturbs one's peace of
mind.
26. The writer holds that ______.
A. modem technology has disturbed the quiet life of the people
B. modem technology has made people indifferent to noise pollution
C. modem technology has made the present world quieter than before
D. modem technology has failed to solve the problem of noise pollution
27. According to the passage, an active noise-cancellation system ______.
A. contains noise rather than negates it
B. eliminates noise rather than muffles it
C. deflects noise rather than baffles it
D. holds noise back rather than stifles it
28. In Paragraph 5 the word “buffs" means ______.
A. settlers B. enthusiasts C. buyers D. manufacturers
29. Which of the following statements is Not true according to the passage?
A. In the past, people sometimes plugged their ears to fight against the offending noise.
B. An active noise-cancellation system follows the principle of a wave being flattened by
meeting its exact opposite.
C. The first active noise-cancellation system was made in the 1930s,
D. Active noise-cancellation systems are no w- available on the market.
30. Active noise-cancellation systems require _______.
A. microphones B. microprocessors C. loudspeakers D. all of the above
Passage Three
In the early years of the twentieth century, astrophysicists turned their attention to a
special category of stars, known as Cepheid (辐射点在仙王(星)座中的流星) variables. A
variable star is one whose apparent brightness changes from time to time. Among some
variables, the change in brightness occurs so slowly as to be almost imperceptible; among
others, it occurs in sudden, brief, violent bursts of energy. Cepheid variables have special
characteristics that make them a useful astronomical tool.
It was Henrietta Leavitt, an astronomer at the Harvard Observatory, who first examined
the Cepheid variables in detail. She found that these stars vary regularly in apparent
brightness over a relatively short period of time - from one to three days to a month or more.
This variation in brightness could be recorded and precisely measured with the help of the
camera, then still a new tool in astronomy.
Leavitt also noticed that the periodicity of each Cepheid variable - that is, the period of
time it took for the star to vary from its brightest point to its dimmest, and back to its brightest
again—corresponded to the intrinsic or absolute brightness of the star. That is, the greater the
star's absolute brightness, the slower its cycle of variation.
Why is this so? The variation in brightness is caused by the interaction between the star's
gravity and the outward pressure exerted by the flow of light energy from the star. Gravity
pulls the outer portions of the star inward, while light pressure pushes them outward. The
result is a pulsating, in-and-out movement that produces increasing and decreasing brightness.
The stronger the light pressure, the slower this pulsation. Therefore, the periodicity of the
Cepheid variable is a good indication of its absolute brightness.
Furthermore, it is obvious that the more apparent brightness of any source of light
decrease the further we are from the light. Physicists had long known that this relationship
could be described by a simple mathematical formula. If we know the absolute brightness of
any object - say, a star - as well as our distance from that object, it is possible to use the
inverse square law to determine exactly how bright that object will appear to be.
This laid the background for Leavitt's most crucial insight. As she had discovered, the
absolute brightness of a Cepheid variable could be determined by measuring its periodicity.
And, of course, the apparent brightness of the star when observed from the earth could be
determined by simple measurement. Leavitt saw that with these two facts and the help of the
inverse square law, it would be possible to determine the distance from earth of any Cepheid
variable. If we know the absolute brightness of the star and how bright it appears from the
earth, we can tell how far it must be.
Thus, if a Cepheid variable can be found in any galaxy, it is possible to measure the
distance of that galaxy from earth. Thanks to Leavitt's discovery, astronomical distances that
could not previously be measured became measurable for the first time.
31 .The primary purpose of the passage is to explain_______.
A. the background and career of the astronomer Henrietta Leavitt
B. how and why various categories of stars vary in brightness
C. important uses of the camera as an astronomical tool
D. how a particular method of measuring astronomical distances was created
32. According to the passage, the absolute brightness of a Cepheid variable ____.
A. depends upon its measurable distance from an observer on earth
B. may be determined from the length of its cycle of variation
C. changes from time to time according to a regular and predictable pattern
D. indicates the strength of the gravitation force exerted by the star
33. Which of the following did Leavitt's work provide astronomers with the means of
determining?
A. The absolute brightness of any observable Cepheid variable.
B. The apparent brightness of any object at a given distance from an observer.
C. The distance from earth of any galaxy containing an observable Cepheid variable.
D. Both A and C.
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34. Cepheid variable of great absolute brightness would probably exhibit ____.
A. a relatively rapid variation in brightness
B. a correspondingly weak gravitational force
C. slow and almost invisible changes in brightness
D. a strong outward flow of light pressure
35. The passage implies that Leavitt's work on Cepheid variables would not have been
possible without the availability of____.
A. the camera as a scientific tool
B. techniques for determining the distances between stars
C. a method of measuring a star's gravitational force
D. an understanding of the chemical properties of stars
Passage Four
The American economy, whether in government or private industry, has found
retirement a convenient practice for managing the labor force. On the positive side,
widespread retirement has meant an expansion of leisure and opportunities for self-fulfillment
in later life. On the negative side, the practice of retirement entails large costs, both in funding
required for pension systems and in the loss of the accumulated skills and talents of older
people.
Critics of retirement as it exists today have pointed to the rigidity of retirement practices:
for example, the fact that retirement is typically an all-or-nothing proposition. Would it not be
better to have some form of flexible or phased retirement, in which employees gradually
reduce their work hours or take longer vacations? Such an approach might enable older
workers to adjust better to retirement, while permitting employers to make gradual changes
instead of coping with the abrupt departure of an employee. Retirement could be radically
redefined in the future.
Earlier criticism of mandatory retirement at a fixed age led to legal abolition of the
practice, for the most part, in 1986. The same kind of criticism has been leveled at the practice
of age discrimination in employment. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act forbids
older workers from being limited or treated in any way that would harm their employment
possibilities. Still, most observers admit that age discrimination in the workplace remains
widespread. The negative stereotypes of older workers have caused employers to be reluctant
to hire or train older people. Sometimes such discrimination against older workers is based on
mistaken ideas, such as the false belief that older workers are less productive. In fact,
empirical studies have not shown older workers to be less dependable in their job
performance, nor are their absenteeism rate higher.
Interest in the potential productivity of older workers has stimulated the growth of
industrial gerontology, a field concerned with recruitment, performance appraisal, retraining,
and redesign of jobs to permit older workers to be more productive. Managing an older
workforce will clearly be a challenge for the future. There is also much support for the idea of
work life extension; that is, adaptations of retirement rules or employment practices to enable
older people to become more productive. In favor of this idea is the fact that three-quarters of
employed people over 65 are in white-collar occupations in service industries, which are less
physically demanding than agriculture or manufacturing jobs. As a result, it is sometimes
argued, older people can remain in productive jobs now longer than in the past. In addition,
some analysts point to declining numbers of young people entering the workforce, thus
anticipating a labor shortage later in the 1990s. That development, if it occurred, might
stimulate a need for older workers and a reversal of the trend toward early retirement.
36. Opponents of the retirement policy say ____.
A. it gives more leisure to old people than they know how to use
B. it costs too much money in the form of retirement pensions
C. it is too rigid and flexibility should be integrated into it
D. retirement should be practiced only in the public sector
37. What happened in 1986?
A. Retirement stopped being practiced.
B. Age limitation in retirement was abolished.
C. Age discrimination was legally abolished.
D. Retired people were no longer entitled to pensions.
38. Empirical studies indicate that old people ______.
A. are less productive than younger people B. prefer working to retiring
C. are reliable workers D. are less dependable
39. Industrial gerontology is concerned with ______.
A. how to mange older workforce
B. finding out how productive older workers can be
C. how to meet the challenge of the future
D. finding out what kind of people can stay after the retirement age
40. Which of the following might lead to work life extension?
A. Retraining of old people in modem skills.
B. The trend toward early retirement.
C. The expansion of agriculture and manufacturing industry.
D. The declining younger labor force.
Passage Five
Our culture has caused most Americans to assume not only that our language is universal
but that the gestures we use are understood by everyone. We do not realize that waving
good-bye is the way to summon a person from the Philippines to one's side, or that in Italy
and some Latin American countries, curling the finger to oneself is a sign of farewell.
Those private citizens who sent packages to our troops occupying Germany after World
War II and marked them GIFT to escape duty payments did not bother to find out that "Gift"
means poison in German. Moreover, we like to think of ourselves as friendly, yet we prefer to
be at least 3 feet or an arm's length away from others. Latins and Middle Easterners like to
come closer and touch, which makes Americans uncomfortable.
Our linguistic (语言上的) and cultural blindness and the casualness with which we take
notice of the developed tastes, gestures, customs and languages of other countries, are losing
us friends, business and respect in the world.
Even here in the United States, we make few concessions to the needs of foreign visitors.
There are no information signs in four languages on our public buildings or monuments; we
do not have multilingual (多语的) guided tours. Very few restaurant menus have translations,
and multilingual waiters, bank clerks and policemen are rare. Our transportation systems have
maps in English only and often we ourselves have difficulty understanding them.
When we go abroad, we tend to cluster in hotels and restaurants where English is spoken.
The attitudes and information we pick up are conditioned by those natives -usually the richer -
who speak English. Our business dealings, as well as the nation's diplomacy, are conducted
through interpreters.
For many years, America and Americans could get by with cultural blindness and
linguistic ignorance. After all, America was the most powerful country of the free world, the
distributor of needed funds and goods.
But all that is past, American dollars no longer buy all good things, and we are slowly
beginning to realize that our proper role in the world is changing. A 1979 Harris poll reported
that 55 percent of Americans want this country to play a more significant role in world affairs;
we want to have a hand in the important decisions of the next century, even though it may not
always be the upper hand.
41. It can be inferred that Americans being approached too closely by Middle-Easterners
would most probably ______.
A. stand still B. jump aside C. step forward D. draw back
42. The author gives many examples to criticize Americans for their ____.
A. cultural self-centeredness B. casual manners
C. indifference towards foreign visitors D. arrogance toward other cultures
43. In countries other than their own most Americans ____.
A. are isolated by the local people
B. are not well informed due to the language barrier
C. tend to get along well with the natives
D. need interpreters in hotels and restaurants
44. According to the author, Americans' cultural blindness and linguistic ignorance will____.
A. affect their image in the new era
B. cut themselves off from the outside world
C. limit their role in world affairs
D. weaken the position of the US dollar
45. The author's intention in writing this article is to make Americans realize that
A. it is dangerous to ignore their foreign friends
B. it is important to maintain their leading role in world affairs
C. it is necessary to use several languages in public places
D. it is time to get acquainted with other cultures
III. Translation (20%)
Directions: Translate the following passage into Chinese. Write your translation on the answer
sheet.
A few years ago, the rich world's worry about economic interaction with developing
countries was that the poor could not profit from it. So unbalanced were the terms of
exchange between the North's mighty industries and the South's weakling sweatshops that
trade between the two could be nothing more than exploitation of the one by the other: far
from helping the poor countries, global integration would actually deepen their poverty. This
fear has now given way to a pessimism that is equal and opposite-namely, that trade with the
developing world will impoverish today's rich countries.
This new fear is more dangerous than the old one. The earlier scare tacitly affirmed that
the industrial countries would suffer if they cut their links with the third world. Starting from
there, campaigning in the North to restrict trade with developing countries was going to be an
uphill struggle. Those who oppose deeper economic integration now have a better platform.
Vital interests oblige the rich countries to protect their industries from the new competition.
Unlike its predecessor, this idea may sell.
The new fear, like the old one, expresses the conviction that growth in one part of the
world must somehow come at the expense of another. This is a deeply rooted prejudice, and
plainly wrong. Very nearly all of the world is more prosperous now than it was 30 years ago.
Growth has been a story of mutual advance.
Lending useful support to this first error is a second - the idea that there is only so much
work to go round. If new technologies make some jobs obsolete, or if an increase in the
supply of cheap imports makes other jobs uneconomic, the result must be a permanent rise in
unemployment. Again, on a moment's reflection, this is wrong. At the core of both errors is
blindness to the adaptive power of a market economy.
IV. Writing (15%)
Directions: Please read the following report and then write an essay in 250-300 words on
the topic : My comment on the plan of future development of Chongming (崇明) island. Your
composition should consist of three parts:
1. The characteristics of the plan
2. My comment on the plan
3. Description of the relationship between human and nature (to support our comment)
Chongming, the country's third largest and Shanghai's

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同济大学2006年博士研究生入学考试试题

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