英语高级读写200806期末A卷

高级读写期末考试试卷（Ａ卷）Final Exam for Advanced Reading and Writing (Paper A)For Students of Grade 2006, L3 June, 2008Name ________________ Registration Number _____________Department ___________ Score __________________________Part I Reading Comprehension (60%)Directions:There are five passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center.Passage 1 Question 1-7The General Electric Company, often criticized for the complexity of its structure and the resulting opacity of its numbers, said yesterday that it would break GE capital, by far its largest business, into four businesses, effective Aug. 1.The reorganization effectively eliminates the job of Denis J. Nayden, 48, the chairman of GE Capital.Each of the new units will have its own chief, who will report directly to Jeffrey R. Immelt, GE’s chairman.“The reason for doing this is simple. I want more direct contact with the financial services teams,” Mr. Immelt said.The new businesses are GE Commercial finance, GE Insurance, GE Consumer Finance and GE Equipment Management. Some support functions within GE Capital, including risk management and treasury, will now report to Dennis Dammerman, 57, a GE vice chairman who preceded Mr. Nayden as GE Capital’s chief.Mr. Nayden will remain at G.E. as an adviser for now, but is expected to leave shortly to start a financial services advisory firm.“He may even wind up doing some things for us,” Mr. Dammerman said.Mr. Dammerman insisted that the reorganization had nothing to do with the increasing clamor from investors, regulators and the news media for greater transparency in accounting and for chief executives to take more responsibility for businesses. Analysts seem to believe him.“This is just what it appears to be, a managerial reorganization which gives leaders more direct access to the office of the chairman,” said Martin A. Sankey, a GE analyst with Goldman, Sachs.The executives leading the new units will also sit on GE’s corporate executive council, a committee made up of the company’s top 25 executives, which meets periodically and discusses various strategic and management issues.GE Capital, the company’s largest unit, provided $55 billion of GE’s $124 billion in revenue last year and $ 5.6 billion of its $ 19.7 billion in pretax profits. The rest of G.E. had been divided into 11 other businesses, many of them –lighting and appliances are examples -- much smaller than the new GE Capital units, yet each run by someone who reports directly to the chairman.Mr. Dammerman said that Mr. Immelt began talking about breaking GE Capital into more manageable pieces as soon as he took over as chief executive last September.“Jeff didn’t like the extra layer between him and the GE Capital businesses,” Mr. Dammerman said. “But with Sep. 11, and all the unrest in the financial world, there wasn’t time to carry this out.”GE has tried to make GE Capital less mysterious to the outside world. Although GE Capital was officially one unit, it had begun to report quarterly results in five product-related segments –a number that will be reduced to four with the new organization. And analysts say GE Capital’s management has been more accessible than it was in past years, and that Mr. Immelt and other GE corporate executives have been willing to discuss GE Capital in more depth.“They’ve been giving much better details on the state of the business,” said James N. Kelleher, an analyst with Argus Research. “But there was still a perception in the market of GE as this two-headed beast, with Denis Nayden effectively up there right next to Jeff Immelt.”Analysts who have covered GE for a long time suggest that one reason for the move now is that Mr. Immelt’s predecessor, John F. Welch Jr., was such a forceful leader that it did not occur to investors he was not on top of everything at GE.“Jeff is a less evangelistic leader operating in a newly hostile business environment, and he simply has to resort to more traditional management methods, ”one analyst said. The reorganization met a generally positive reaction yesterday, as GE shares rose $ 1.15, to $ 27.80. Still, that is a long way from the $ 50 level at which GE shares were trading a year ago, or the peak above $ 60 that was hit two years ago, and it may take more that a reorganization to woo skittish investors back.1. After the reorganization, GE will have altogether ________.(A) six businesses. (B) fifteen businesses.(C) four businesses. (D) sixteen businesses.2. Which of the following statements is NOT true of Dennis Dammerman?(A) He is now one of GE’s vice chairmen.(B) He was once the chairman of GE Capital.(C) He will be the chief of some support functions within GE Capital.(D) He regards the reorganization of GE as an initiative of its own.3. All the following statements are true of Denis Nayden EXCEPT that ________.(A) he is currently GE Capital’s chairman(B) he will remain for some tie at GE as an advisor after Aug. 1(C) he is expected to start a GE financial services advisory firm soon(D) he has been perceived in the market as GE’s number two figure4. The term “opacity of its numbers”in paragraph 1 can best be explained as ________.(A) lack of transparency in its accounting(B) lack of clearness about the number of businesses it has(C) lack of exactness concerning the number of its staff(D) lack of effective management5. It can be seen from the passage that GE’s chief executive to ________.(A) goes with the tide (B) is wrongly oriented(C) lacks far-sightedness (D) runs a lot of risks6. The reorganization will enable GE’s chief executive to ________.(A) quiet down the unrest in the financial world(B) work in a more friendly business environment(C) appear less mysterious to the outside world(D) have more direct contact with GE’s financial services teams7. Unlike his successor, Mr. Welch Jr. ________.(A) was trusted by investors(B) worked in a hostile business environment(C) was on top of everything at GE(D) relied greatly on traditional management methodsPassage 2 Question 8-13In the early days of the United States, postal charges were paid by the recipient and Charges varied with the distance carried. In 1825, the United States Congress permitted local postmasters to give letters to mail carriers for home delivery, but these carriers received no government salary and their entire compensation depended on what they were paid by the recipients of individual letters.In 1847 the United States Post Office Department adopted the idea of a postage stamp, which of course simplified the payment for postal service but caused grumbling by those who did not like to prepay. Besides, the stamp covered only delivery to the post office and did not include carrying it to a private address. In Philadelphia, for example, with a population of 150,000, people still had to go to the post office to get their mail. The confusion and congestion of individual citizens looking for their letters was itself enough to discourage use of the mail. It is no wonder that, during the years of these cumbersome arrangements, private letter-carrying and express businesses developed. Although their activities were only semi-legal, they thrived, and actually advertised that between Boston and Philadelphia they were a half-day speedier than the government mail. The government postal service lost volume to private competition and was not able to handle efficiently even the business it had.Finally, in 1863, Congress provided that the mail carriers who delivered the mail from the post offices to private addresses should receive a government salary, and that there should be no extra charge for that delivery. But this delivery service was at firstconfined to cities, and free home delivery became a mark of urbanism. As late as 1887,a town had to have 10,000 people to be eligible for free home delivery. In 1890, of the75 million people in the United States, fewer than 20 million had mail delivered free to their doors. The rest, nearly three-quarters of the population, still received no mail unless they went to their post office.8. What does the passage mainly discuss?(A) The increased use of private mail services.(B) The development of a government postal system.(C) A comparison of urban and postal services.(D) The history of postage stamps.9. Which of the following was seen as a disadvantage of the postage stamp?(A) It had to be purchased by the sender in advance.(B) It increased the cost of mail delivery.(C) It was difficult to affix to letters.(D) It was easy to counterfeit.10. Why does the author mention the city of Philadelphia in line 10?(A) It was the site of the first post office in the United States.(B) Its postal service was inadequate for its population.(C) It was the largest city in the United States in 1847.(D) It was commemorated by the first United States postage stamp.11. The word "they" in line 15 refers to ________.(A) Boston and Philadelphia (B) businesses(C) arrangements (D) letters12. The private postal services of the nineteenth century claimed that they could do which of the following better than the government?(A) Deliver a higher volume of mail. (B) Deliver mail more cheaply.(C) Deliver mail faster. (D) Deliver mail to rural areas.13. In 1863 the United States government began providing which of the following to mail carriers?(A) A salary (B) Housing (C) Transportation (D) Free postage stamps Passage 3 Question 14-19The French word renaissance means rebirth. It was first used in 1855 by the historian Jules Michelet in his History of France, then adopted by historians of culture, by art historians, and eventually by music historians, all of whom applied it to European culture during the 150 years spanning 1450-1600. The concept of rebirth was appropriate to this period of European history because of the renewed interest in ancient Greek and Roman culture that began in Italy and then spread throughout Europe. Scholars and artists of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries wanted to restore the learning and ideals of the classical civilizations of Greece and Rome. To these scholars this meant a return to human----as opposed to spiritual-values. Fulfillment in life----as opposed to concern about an afterlife----became a desirable goal, and expressing the entire range of human emotions and enjoying the pleasures of the senses were no longer frowned on. Artists and writers now turned to secular as well asreligious subject matter and sought to make their works understandable and appealing. These changes in outlook deeply affected the musical culture of the Renaissance period----how people thought about music as well as the way music was composed, experienced, discussed, and disseminated. They could see the architectural monuments, sculptures, plays, and poems that were being rediscovered, but they could not actually hear ancient music-although they could read the writings of classical philosophers, poets, essayists, and music theorists that were becoming available in translation. They learned about the power of ancient music to move the listener and wondered why modern music did not have the same effect. For example, the influential religious leader Bernardino Cirillo expressed disappointment with the learned music of his time. He urged musicians to follow the example of the sculptors, painters, architects, and scholars who had rediscovered ancient art and literature. The musical Renaissance in Europe was more a general cultural movement and state of mind than a specific set of musical techniques. Furthermore, music changed so rapidly during this century and a half-though at different rates in different countries-that we cannot define a single Renaissance style.14. What is the passage mainly about?(A) The musical compositions that best illustrate the developments during the European Renaissance.(B) The musical techniques that were in use during the European Renaissance.(C) The European Renaissance as a cultural development that included changes in musical style.(D) The ancient Greek and Roman musical practices used during the European Renaissance15. It can be inferred from the passage that thinkers of the Renaissance were seekinga rebirth of .(A) communication among artists across Europe(B) spirituality in everyday life(C) a cultural emphasis on human values(D) religious themes in art that would accompany the traditional secular themes16. According to the passage, Renaissance artists and writers had all of the following intentions EXCEPT .(A) to use religious themes(B) to portray only the pleasant parts of human experience(C) to produce art that people would find attractive(D) to create works that were easily understood17. What can be inferred about the music of ancient Greece and Rome?(A) It expressed different ideals than classical sculpture, painting and poetry.(B) It was played on instruments that are familiar to modern audiences.(C) It had the same effect on Renaissance audiences as it had when originally performed.(D) Its effect on listeners was described in a number of classical texts.18. According to the passage, why was Bemardino Cirillo disappointed with the music of his time?(A) it was not complex enough to appeal to musicians.(B) It had little emotional impact on audiences.(C) It was too dependent on the art and literature of his time.(D) It did not contain enough religious themes.19. Which of the following is mentioned in the passage as a reason for the absence ofa single Renaissance musical style?(A) The musical Renaissance was defined by technique rather than style.(B) The musical Renaissance was too short to give rise to a new musical style.(C) Renaissance musicians adopted the styles of both Greek and Roman musicians.(D) During the Renaissance, music never remained the same for very long. Passage 4 Question 20-25Twenty years ago, a rather reluctant IBM unleashed the homely Personal Computer 5150 and created the business PC. Since then, speed has increased by many orders of magnitude, the basic unit of storage has gone from the 160-kilobyte floppy disk to hard drives that hold tens of billions of bytes, and the price per unit of processing power has fallen perhaps a millionfold. Yet the fundamental architecture of the PC has changed amazingly little. In fact, most programs and hardware accessories that worked on the original IBM PC still work today. Plug an early 1980s Epson MX-80 dot-matrix printer into a Pentium 4, and it will be ready to chug away. What accounts for this longevity? And what does it portend for the future of personal technology?Probably the most important lesson is that technological elegance isn’t terribly important in the marketplace; being good enough will do. IBM’s requirement that the PC be built from cheap, off-the-shelf parts forced engineering compromises that persist today. Over the years, techn-snobs have derided PC hardware and the software that runs on it, with Sun Microsystems CEO Scott MeNealy famously dismissing Microsoft Office as “a hairball”. None of this has mattered. “It wasn’t rocket science, and it wasn’t extraordinarily inventive,” says IBM Fellow Mark Dean, who designed the color-graphics adapter for the original PC. “Most of the time it’s not the level of technology that makes a difference. The important thing is that you are solving a problem at the right time and at the right price. ”FIERCE RIV ALRY. The PC became a vital business tool after Lotus Research introduced the 1-2-3 spreadsheet in 1983. at about the same time, IBM, which never tried very hard to retain exclusive control of the basic design, lost control of the technology to Microsoft and Intel. The consequence has been fierce competition among PC makers----and a steady slide in price.The fist real challenge to the PC’s dominance was the introduction of the Apple Macintosh in 1984. The Mac was and is technically more elegant than its Intel-Microsoft rivals. But it was a closed system, compared to the PC’s competition-inspiring open architecture, and Apple claimed a price premium. By the time Microsoft narrowed the usability gap with the introduction of Windows 3.1 in 1991, Apple Computer’s chances of making significant inroads were over. The PC wasn’t the best, but it was good enough.In the early 1990s, the PC reigned unchallenged. But by the second half of the decades, the growth of the Internet created new competition in the form of “network computers” and, more recently, “web appliances”. These were simple terminals that depended on the processing power and intelligence of network severs. Despite the backing of such heavy weights as Sun, Oracle, and IBM, network appliances failed miserably. The reason is not mystery: They delivered a small fraction of the performance and flexibility of even a low-end PC at a large fraction of the cost. Another challenge to the PC has come from handheld devices. But too many tasks depend on a good keyboard and a big display for these pocketable tools to be more than adjuncts.I have been as vocal as anyone in criticizing the PC’s many flaws. The computers are still too hard to use. Software quality leaves much to be desired, and consumers are expected to put up with a level of failure and frustration that they would not accept from any other products. Yet I have to admit that the reliability of the hardware and the usability of the software have improved dramatically over two decades.In one sense the PC’s glory days are over. Many markets are largely saturated, and even a return to rapid economic expansion is unlikely to produce the sort of PC growth rates we saw in the late 1990s. In the corporate world, researchers are working on ways to turn computing power into a utility in which clusters of severs are used to sell computing power on demand, sort of the network computer idea of steroids. And eventually someone will design a Web appliance that will turn consumers’ heads.Still, the value proposition of the PC ---- good enough and really cheap ---- will make it hard to displace. I wouldn’t be surprised if 20 years from now, offices and schools were full of Pentium 15 PCs running Windows 2020.20. According to the first paragraph, which of the following statements is true?A) The homely Personal Computer 5150 was actively promoted by IBM 20 years ago.B) There has been a slight decrease in the price per unit of processing power.C) It is amazing that the fundamental architecture of the PC hasn’t changed much for20 years.D) Early 1980s Epson MX-80 dot-matrix printers still sell well today.21. The most important lesson the writer draws from the account in Paragraph 1 is .A) technological elegance counts for nothing in the marketplace.B) the market of business PC is unpredictable.C) technologically elegant PCs cannot survive the competition in the marketplace.D) practicality counts for more than elegance in the marketplace of PC.22. Which of the following can be inferred form IBM Fellow Mark Dean’s words?A) Invention matters a lot to a PC maker.B) Utility and price are the major considerations for PC makers.C) The level of technology is always important for a PC maker.D) Most PC makers are at the same level of technology.23. The writer believes that handheld devices .A) will soon replace keyboards and monitorsB) will replace Web appliancesC) are no more than adjuncts to the PCD) are more convenient than keyboards24. Which of the following is NOT cited as one of the PC’s flaws?A) The computers are still not sufficiently user-friendly.B) There is room for improvement in software quality.C) The level of its failure and frustration is higher than that of other products.D) The reliability and usability of the PC have improved only slightly in the past 20 years.25. It is hard to displace the PC because .A) it is both useful and economicB) it will be found everywhere in 20 years’ timeC) PCs are popular at schools and officesD) Pentium 15 PCs running Windows 2020 will be much more efficient than today’s PC’sPassage 5 Question 26-30One of the most important social developments that helped to make possible a shift in thinking about the role of public education was the effect of the baby boom of the 1950's and 1960's on the schools. In the 1920's, but especially in the Depression conditions of the 1930's, the United States experienced a declining birth rate -every thousand women aged fifteen to forty-four gave birth to about 118 live children in 1920, 89.2 in 1930, 75.8 in 1936, and 80 in 1940. With the growing prosperity brought on by the Second World War and the economic boom that followed it, young people married and established households earlier and began to raise larger families than had their predecessors during the Depression. Birth rates rose to 102 per thousand in 1946, 106.2 in 1950, and 118 in 1955. Although economics was probably the most important determinant, it is not the only explanation for the baby boom. The increased value placed on the idea of the family also helps to explain this rise in birth rates. The baby boomers began streaming into the first grade by the mid-1940's and became a flood by 1950. The public school system suddenly found itself overtaxed. While the number of schoolchildren rose because of wartime and postwar conditions, these same conditions made the schools even less prepared to cope with the flood. The wartime economy meant that few new schools were built between 1940 and 1945. Moreover, during the war and in the boom times that followed, large numbers of teachers left their profession for better-paying jobs elsewhere in the economy.Therefore, in the 1950's and 1960's, the baby boom hit an antiquated and inadequate school system. Consequently, the "custodial rhetoric" of the 1930's and early 1940's no longer made sense; that is, keeping youths aged sixteen and older out of the labor market by keeping them in school could no longer be a high priority for an institution unable to find space and staff to teach younger children aged five to sixteen. With the baby boom, the focus of educators and of laymen interested in education inevitably turned toward the lower grades and back to basic academic skills and discipline. The system no longer had much interest in offering nontraditional, new, and extra services to older youths.26. What does the passage mainly discuss?(A) The teaching profession during the baby boom.(B) Birth rates in the United States in the 1930's and 1940's.(C) The impact of the baby boom on public education.(D) The role of the family in the 1950's and 1960's.27. The public schools of the 1950's and 1960' faced all of the following problems EXCEPT ________.(A) a declining number of students(B) old-fashioned facilities(C) a shortage of teachers(D) an inadequate number of school buildings28. According to the passage, why did teachers leave the teaching profession after the outbreak of the war?(A) The needed to be retained.(B) They were dissatisfied with the curriculum.(C) Other jobs provided higher salaries.(D) Teaching positions were scarce.29. The "custodial rhetoric" mentioned in line 21 refers to ________.(A) raising a family(B) keeping older individuals in school(C) running an orderly house hold(D) maintaining discipline in the classroom30. Which of the following best characterizes the organization of the passage?(A) The second paragraph presents the effect of circumstances described in the first paragraph.(B) The second paragraph provides a fictional account to illustrate a problem presented in the first paragraph.(C) The second paragraph argues against a point made in the first paragraph.(D) The second paragraph introduces a problem not mentioned in the first paragraph. Part II Writing (40 %)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 40 minutes to write an essay on the following topics. You should write at least 200 words.College students often find it difficult to land their first jobs after graduation. Discuss what can be done by students and the university administration to improve the situation. Use specific examples and reasons to support your answers.高级读写期末考试（Ａ卷）答题纸Final Exam for Advanced Reading and Writing (Paper A)Answer sheetFor Students of Grade 2006, L3 June, 2008Name ___________________ Registration Number _____________ Department _______________ Score __________________________Part 1 Reading Comprehension (60%)1. 【A】【B】【C】【D】16. 【A】【B】【C】【D】2. 【A】【B】【C】【D】17. 【A】【B】【C】【D】3. 【A】【B】【C】【D】18. 【A】【B】【C】【D】4. 【A】【B】【C】【D】19. 【A】【B】【C】【D】5. 【A】【B】【C】【D】20. 【A】【B】【C】【D】6. 【A】【B】【C】【D】21. 【A】【B】【C】【D】7. 【A】【B】【C】【D】22. 【A】【B】【C】【D】8. 【A】【B】【C】【D】23. 【A】【B】【C】【D】9. 【A】【B】【C】【D】24. 【A】【B】【C】【D】10. 【A】【B】【C】【D】25. 【A】【B】【C】【D】11. 【A】【B】【C】【D】26. 【A】【B】【C】【D】12. 【A】【B】【C】【D】27. 【A】【B】【C】【D】13. 【A】【B】【C】【D】28. 【A】【B】【C】【D】14. 【A】【B】【C】【D】29. 【A】【B】【C】【D】15. 【A】【B】【C】【D】30. 【A】【B】【C】【D】Part II Writing (40 %)Directions: For this part, you are allowed 40 minutes to write an essay on the following topics. You should write at least 200 words.College students often find it difficult to land their first jobs after graduation. Discuss what can be done by students and the university administration to improve the situation. Use specific examples and reasons to support your answers.高级读写期末考试试卷（Ａ卷）Final Exam for Advanced Reading and Writing (Paper A)For Students of Grade 2006, L3 June, 2008Answer Key for Reading comprehension:Question 1-5 BDDAAQuestion 6-10 DCBABQuestion 11-15 BCACCQuestion 16-20 BDBDCQuestion 21-25 DBCDAQuestion 26-30 CACBA。