第一套试题试卷

第一套试题

Part 1 Translation （30%）

Section A

Directions: Translate the following sentences from English to Chinese. (10%) 1．Tens of thousands of 18-year-olds will graduate this year and be handed meaningless diplomas. 2．They will also discover they have been cheated by our educational system.

3．Early in each session I ask my students to write about an unpleasant experience they had in school.

4．That is to reveal the trump card of failure.

5．I regained my composure and managed to say that I thought she was right

Section B

Directions: Translate the following sentences from Chinese to English. (10%))

1．他期末得了一个A。

2．我都不知道自己是怎么拿到高中文凭的。

3．尽管有这些困难，他们还是决定把接受教育放在首位。

4．让学生不及格，作为一种常规手段，其优点在今天依然和两代之前一样多

5．这是一个在过去有效，在今天也会有效的政策。

Section C

Directions: Translate the following passage from English to Chinese. (5%) Passing students who have not mastered the work cheats them and the employers who expect graduates to have basic skills. We excuse this dishonest behavior by saying kids can't learn if they come from terrible environments. No one seems to stop to think that--no matter what environments they come from----most kids don't put school first on their list unless they perceive something is at stake. They'd rather be sailing.

Section D

Directions: Translate the following passage from Chinese to English. (5%)

各个年龄的人都能克服他们的问题，可他们需要一个这样做的理由。年轻人往往不够成熟，不会像我的成人学生那样重视教育。但是对于失败的恐惧，无论这种恐惧是由经济方面的还是学术方面的，都能对年轻人起到激励作用。

Part 2 Reading Comprehension (20%)

Section A

Fast Reading (10%)

Directions: Go over the passage quickly and answer the questions.

The essence of education is the teaching of facts and reasoning skills to our children, so that they learn to think.

Yet almost a century, our schools have been under assault by an approach to education that elevates feelings over facts. Under the influence of Progressive Education –It is now more important than getting him in touch with the facts of history, mathematics or geography.

―Creative spelling‖- in which students are encouraged to spell words in whatever way they feel is correct – is more important than the rules of language. Urging children to ―feel good‖ about themselves is more important than ensuring that they acquire the knowledge necessary for living successfully.

This emotion-centered, anti-reason assault on education has found a new ally; those who believe the literal words of the Bible. The Kansas Board of Education has just excised the theory of evolution from the states official science standards. Several other states have enacted similar anti-evolution policies, thereby elevating the feeling of religious fundamentalists over the accumulated evidence of the entire science of biology

These policies do not actually ban the teaching of evolution, nor do they mandate the teaching of ―Creationism‖-the biblical claim that the Earth and all life on it were created in six days .They simply drop evolution from the required curriculum .The goal of the religious activities is to keep students ignorant of the theory of evolution, or to encourage the teaching of evolution and Creationism side-by-side, as two ―competing‖ theories.

Consider what this latter would mean in the classroom. On the one side, teachers would present the theory of evolution, supported by countless observations, all integrated into a comprehensive explanation of virtually every fact in its field.

On the other side, teachers would present --- what? All that the Creationist view offers is the assertion by would-be authorities that an ancient religious text reveals that 10,000 years ago God created the world in six days.

Some of these religious activists claim that they reject the teaching of evolution because it is ―unproven,‖ since it lacks ―sufficient evidence.‖

Yet their arguments systematically reject the need for proof and evidence. Scientists can point to a billion-year-long fossil record of continuous changes across all species as they develop from more-primitive to present-day forms. They can point to the natural variations among members of a species, variations that change from one climate to another as species adapt to their environment. But the Creationist categorically dismisses the evidence—because it contradicts biblical dogma.

The central issue is not whether there is enough scientific evidence to validate a particular conclusion-but whether science as such, rather than faith, is the basis for arriving at conclusions, There can be no scientific debate between these two positions. There can be no rational argument between a view that rests on observation and reason, and one that rests on blind faith-i. e, on its adherents’ desire to believe something, irrespective of logic.

If the Creationist approach were taken seriously, what would remain of education? If evidence and reasoning are to be ―balanced‖ by faith or feeling—what, then, would not belong in the curriculum? Even the theory that the Earth is flat has proponents who feel it is true. More to the point, what is to stop teachers from presenting any other non-rational view of the origin of man? Why not give equal time to, say, the Nazi claim the white race descended from the superior Aryans?

The most ominous implication of the creationist position is its belief that, in judging the truth of an idea, one can simply ignore rational evidence——if it clashes with one’s desire to believe otherwise. this is a disastrous methodology to inculcate in our children ——and it is even more dangerous to back it up with the ruling of a government body.

The crucial role of education is to provide young people with the information and methods they need in order to learn how to think independently. Education has liberated mankind from the shackles of myth, superstition and unchallenged tradition. But the prevailing trend —— from both the ―progressive left‖ and the ―religious right‖ —— is to reserve this development, by enshrining feeling over facts and faith over reason.

If campaigns such as the one against teaching evolution are allowed to succeed, the ultimate result will be the extinction of genuine education.

Directions: In this part, for questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked A, B, C, D. For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.

1. From the passage, we know that the genuine education is ________.

A．teaching of facts. B．teaching of reasoning skills.

C．learning to think. D．both A and B.

2. What does the Progressive Education emphasize ______?

A．facts B．feelings

C．the facts of history, mathematics or geography. D．facts and feelings

3. From the passage, what does the anti-evolution polic ies really mean_______?

A．they support the teaching of evolution

B．they support the teaching of ―Creationism‖---the biblical claim that the Earth and all life on it were created in six days

C．they support not only the teaching of evolution, but also the teaching of ―Creationism‖---the biblical claim that the Earth and all life on it were created in six days

D．they excise evolution from the required curriculum.

4. What is the purpose of religious activities_____?

A. to keep students ignorant of the theory of evolution.

B. to encourage the teaching of evolution and Creationism side-by-side, as two ―competing‖

theories.

C. to keep students knowing what is ―Creationism‖

D. to excise evolution from the required curriculum.

5. Why do the religious activists reject the teaching of evolution ____?

A. because evolution lacks ―sufficient evidence.‖

B. because religious activists dismiss the evidence.

C. because evolution contradicts biblical dogma

D. because the central issue is whether science as such, rather than faith, is the basis for arriving at conclusions.

6. Which proof is not mentioned by Scientists who want to prove evolution is true_____?

A. billion-year-long fossil record of continuous changes across all species as they develop from more-primitive to present-day forms

B. the natural variations among members of a species, variations that change from one climate to another as species adapt to their environment

C. both A and B

D. evolution lacks ―sufficient evidence.‖

7. There is no scientific debate between these two positions what does the author mean______?

A. science rests on observation and reason.

B. faith rests on blind faith.

C. the basis for arriving at conclusions is different between these two positions.

D. science is enough scientific evidence to validate a particular conclusion.

8. For arriving at conclusions, science rests on_________________________________.

9. The ominous implication of the creationist position is____________________________.

10. If a campaign which is against teaching evolution is allowed to succeed, it will cause ________________________________________.

Section B

Task-based Reading (10%)

Directions: Read the article and fill out the following table. (4 words at most for each blank) .

It made headlines several weeks ago: Researchers at Stanford University's SIQSS (Stanford Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society) conducted a national survey of Web users that led the researchers to the following conclusions:

"The more hours people use the Internet, the less time they spend with real human beings. ... The Internet could be the ultimate isolating technology that reduces our participation in communities even more than television did. … This is an early trend that, as a society, we really need to monitor carefully."

The study was conducted at the end of last year and used information provided by 2,689 households that were enlisted by a random telephone survey and given a free Web TV and free Internet access. In an effort to fi1ter out "contamination" caused by the fact that the survey was itself Web-based, the final results were drawn only from among those participants who already had some form of Internet access at home or work prior to the survey.

The study has all the normal trappings of objectivity and statistical validity, but to me, it appears the researchers' interpretation of the results is rooted in a subt1e, but distinct anti-Web/anti-tech bias. This is especially disturbing in light of the wide play the survey got in the national media.

Let me pick one glaring example: the study trumpets that 26 percent of Internet users report they spend less time talking with family and friends on the phone -- clearly, a symptom of increasing social isolation, right?

But the same study shows that by far the most common Internet activity is sending and receiving e-mail. Amazingly, nowhere in the study did I find anything that recognized what is, to me, the obvious causal link: E-mail simply has replaced the phone for many routine types of communication. The interpersonal interaction still takes place; it's just shifted from one medium to another.

But the researchers seem to have missed that. Worse，they appear to regard e-mail as a socially inferior medium. For example, in a press release about the study, one researc her says, ―E-mail is a way to stay in touch, but you can't share a coffee or a beer with somebody on e-mail or give them a hug.‖

OK. But you can't share a coffee or a beer or a hug by telephone, either. So, wouldn't it stand to reason that the more time we spend on the phone, the more socially isolated we are? And you know, you also can't share a coffee or a beer or a hug by snail mail, so every time you send someone a card or a letter, you're merely increasing your social isolation, right?

What’s wrong wit h this thinking?

Clearly, there’s something wrong with this thinking, and I think the clue to what the flaw is can be found in the same press where one of the researchers says, ―For the most past, the Internet

is an individual activity.‖

But the study says that e-mail is the No.1 Internet activity. That’s ―individual‖ only if you see one end of the connection, or only if you somehow come to believe that in communicating online, you’re interacting with your computer rather than your correspondents.

By the sa me logic, if you talk on the phone, you’re really just interacting with a speaker and microphone and some wires, right? Oh wait, that can’t be right ——as we saw above,‖ talking with family and friends on the phone‖ is a good thing, the loss of which repres ents increasing social isolation. So, by the weird logic of this research paper, communication by older technology like the phone is socially connecting, but communication by a newer technology——e-mail——is socially isolating.

I believe that strange distinction makes sense only when you view this subject through the strong, distorting lens of personal bias: Some people are inherently ―touchy-feely‖ and simply can’t connect unless they can at least hear another’s voice. To these people, e-mail will always come up short.

I’ll be the first to admit that there are times when there’s no substitute for the touch or voice of a friend or a loved one. But many people, especially those comfortable with the written word, have no trouble maintaining social connections by e-mail.

In fact, I think e-mail can be the very antithesis of isolating. If a friend sends me, say, a small joke by e-mail - a joke too small to warrant a phone call or a face-to-face meeting --I can smile and feel good at being thought of. It's communication that otherwise would not have happened, and adds to the totality of social connectedness rather than detracts from it.

This seems obvious to me. People gravitate to the medium that works best for their needs. For touchy-feely people, e-mail is lousy. But for others, e-mail actually increases and enhances communication and connectedness. The fact that e-mail is the No. 1 online activity is concrete evidence that there is a huge number of people who feel like wise.

Yes, e-mail is different from face-to-face communication or the telephone or other media. As a neutral statement, that's fine. But it gets scary when a social scientist engaged in the "Quantitative Study of Society" assigns qualitative value judgments to communication media. In effect: "Lots of phone calls mean you're socially interconnected; lots of e-mail means you're socially isolated, and part of a trend that society must monitor carefully."

Connectedness vs. Isolation

Socially speaking, "connectedness" and "isolation" are both relative and subjective terms.

Amazingly, the researchers never asked the survey participants if they themselves felt more or less connected. They never asked if participants felt more or less isolated or if their lives had improved or deteriorated or if other family members or friends had complained or even commented on the users' supposed isolation or connectedness. Instead, the researchers asked ostensibly neutral questions and then inferred the degree of connectedness or isolation according to an unspecified, and in my opinion, biased scale.

That flaw in the study can't be rectified, but perhaps it can be illuminated. Consider: Byte' readers have been online longer than almost any other group I know, stretching back to the early days of ARPAnet2. A decade ago, before most people had even heard of the Internet, Byte's

commercial online system (BIX) was among the very first to have full interconnectivity between its e-mail system and standard Internet e-mail.

Surely, if social isolation and unconnectedness is a problem, it would have shown up in this Sample - Byte readers - sooner and stronger than in the public at large.

So, in an admittedly anecdotal and nonscientific way, let me ask you: Has the Internet and Web enhanced or detracted from the social connectedness of your life? Does the online world make you feel more isolated, or less? Does it strengthen the social fabric of your life, or weaken it? Do you have e-mail friends whom you never (or rarely) meet in person? If so, are these friendships inferior to ones that rely more on face-to-face meetings?

Part 3 Careful Reading (10%)

Directions: In the following text, some paragraphs have been removed. Put the 5 paragraphs in the correct order. The first and sixth paragraphs have been given.

①Tens of thousands of 18-year-olds will graduate this year and be handed meaningless diplomas. These diplomas won't look any different from those awarded their luckier classmates. Their validity will be questioned only when their employers discover that these graduates are semiliterate.

②＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

③＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

④＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

⑤＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

⑥Our son was a high-school senior when he had her for English. "He sits in the back of the room talking to his friends," she told me. "Why don't you move him to the front row?" I urged, believing the embarrassment would get him to settle down. Mrs.Stifter looked at me steely-eyed over her glasses." I don't move seniors," she said. "I flunk them." I was flustered. Our son's academic life flashed before my eyes. No teacher had ever threatened him with that before. I regained my composure and managed to say that I thought she was right. By the time I got home I was feeling pretty good about this. It was a radical approach for these times, but, well, why not? "She's going to flunk you," I told my son. I did not discuss it any further. Suddenly English became a priority in his life. He finished out the semester with an A.

⑦＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

A、I will never forget a teacher who played that card to get the attention of one of my children. Our youngest, a world-class charmer, did little to develop his intellectual talents but always got by. Until Mrs. Stifter.

B、Eventually a fortunate few will find their way into educational-repair shops--adult-literacy programs, such as the one where I teach basic grammar and writing. There, high-school graduates and high-school dropouts pursuing graduate-equivalency certificates will learn the skills they should have learned in school. They will also discover they have been cheated by our educational system.

C、As I teach, I learn a lot about our schools. Early in each session I ask my students to write about an unpleasant experience they had in school. No writers' block here! "I wish someone would have had made me stop doing drugs and made me study." "I liked to party and no one seemed to care." "I was a good kid and didn't cause any trouble, so they just passed me along even though I didn't read and couldn't write." And so on.

D、I know one example doesn't make a case, but at night I see a parade of students who are angry and resentful for having been passed along until they could no longer even pretend to keep up. Of average intelligence or better, they eventually quit school, concluding they were too dumb to finish. "I should have been held back," is a comment I hear frequently. Even sadder are those students who are high-school graduates who say to me after a few weeks of class, "I don't know how I ever got a high-school diploma."

E、I am your basic do-gooder, and prior to teaching this class I blamed the poor academic skills our kids have today on drugs, divorce and other impediments to concentration necessary for doing well in school. But, as I rediscover each time I walk into the classroom, before a teacher can expect students to concentrate, he has to get their attention, no matter what distractions may be at hand. There are many ways to do this, and they have much to do with teaching style. However, if style alone won't do it, there is another way to show who holds the winning hand in the classroom. That is to reveal the trump card of failure.

①——( )——( )——( )——( )——⑥——( )

Part 4 Proof reading and Error Correction (10%)

Tens of thousand of 18-year-olds will graduate this 1.______ year and be handed meaningless diplomas. These diplomas won't look any different from those

awarding their luckier 2.______ classmates. Their validity will be questioned only when their employers discover that these graduates are semiliterate.

Eventually a fortunate few will find their way into educational-repair shops--adult-literacy programs, such as the one which I teach basic grammar and writing. There, 3._______ high-school graduates and high-school dropouts pursue 4.______ graduate-equivalency certificates will learn the skills they should have learned in school. They will also discover they have cheated by our educational system. 5.______

I am your basic do-gooder, and prior to teach this 6.______ class I blamed the poor academic skills our kids have today in drugs, divorce and other impediments to concentration 7.______ necessary for doing well in school. But, as I rediscover each time I w alk into the classroom, when a teacher can expect 8.______ students to concentrate, he has to get their attention, no matter how distractions may be at hand. There are many 9.______ ways to do this, and they have much to do with teaching style. But, if style alone won't do it, there is another 10.______ way to show who holds the winning hand in the classroom. That is to reveal the trump card of failure.

Part 5 Reading in-depth (30%)

Directions: Read the article and finish the following questions.

A Friend in Need

Somerset Maugham For thirty years now I have been studying my fellowmen. I do not know very much about them. I shrug my shoulders when people tell me that their first impressions of a person are always right. I think they must have small insight or great vanity. For my own part I find that the longer I know people the more they puzzle me.

These reflections have occurred to me because I read in this morning's paper that Edward Hyde Burton had died at Kobe. He was a merchant and he had been in business in Japan for many years. I knew him very little, but he interested me because once he gave me a great surprise. Unless I had heard the story from his own lips, I should never have believed that he was capable of such an action. It was more startling because both in appearance and manner he suggested a very definite type. Here if ever was a man all of a piece. He was a tiny little fellow, not much more than five feet four in height, and very slender, with white hair, a red face much wrinkled, and blue eyes. I suppose he was about sixty when I knew him. He was always neatly and quietly dressed in accordance with his age and station.

Though his offices were in Kobe, Burton often came down to Yokohama. I happened on one occasion to be spending a few days there, waiting for a ship, and I was introduced to him at the British Club. We played bridge together. He played a good game and a generous one. He did not talk very much, either then or later when we were having drinks, but what he said was sensible.

He had a quiet, dry humor. He seemed to be popular at the club and afterwards, w hen he had gone, they described him as one of the best. It happened that we were both staying at the Grand Hotel and next day he asked me to dine with him. I met his wife, fat, elderly, and smiling, and his two daughters. It was evidently a united and affectionate family. I think the chief thing that struck me about Burton was his kindliness. There was something very pleasing in his mild blue eyes. His voice was gentle; you could not imagine that he could possibly raise it in anger; his smile was benign. Here was a man who attracted you because you felt in him a real love for his fellows. At the same time he liked his game of cards and his cocktail, he could tell with point a good and spicy story, and in his youth he had been something of an athlete. He was a rich man and he had made every penny himself. I suppose one thing that made you like him was that he was so small and frail; he aroused your instincts of protection. You felt that he could not bear to hurt a fly.

One afternoon I was sitting in the lounge of the Grand Hotel when Burton came in and seated himself in the chair next to mine.

"What do you say to a little drink?"

He clapped his hands for a boy and ordered two gin fizzes. As the boy brought them a man passed along the street outside and seeing me waved his hand.

"Do you know Turner?" said Burton as I nodded a greeting.

"I've met him at the club. I'm told he's a remittance man."

"Yes, I believe he is. We have a good many here."

"He plays bridge well."

"They generally do. There was a fellow here last year, oddly enough a namesake of mine, who was the best bridge player I ever met. I suppose you never came across him in London. Lenny Burton he called himself. I believe he'd belonged to some very good clubs."

"No, I don't believe I remember the name."

"He was quite a remarkable player. He seemed to have an instinct about the cards. It was uncanny. I used to play with him a lot. He was in Kobe for some time."

Burton sipped his gin fizz.

"It's rather a funny story,' he said. 'He wasn't a bad chap. I liked him. He was always well-dressed and smart-looking. He was handsome in a way with curly hair and pink-and-white cheeks. Women thought a lot of him. There was no harm in him, you know, he was only wild. Of course he drank too much. Those sort of fellows always do. A bit of money used to come on for him once a quarter and he made a bit more by card-playing. He won a good deal of mine, I know that."

Burton gave a kindly chuckle. I knew from my own experience that he could lose money at bridge with a good grace. He stroked his shaven chin with his thin hand; the veins stood out on it and it was almost transparent.

"I suppose that is why he came to me when he went broke, that and the fact that he was a namesake of mine. He came to see me in my office one day and asked me for a job. I was rather surprised. He told me that there was no more money coming from home and he wanted to work. I asked him how old he was.

"'Thirty-five,' he said.

"'And what have you been doing hitherto?' I asked him.

"'Well, nothing very much,' he said.

I couldn't help laughing.

"'I'm afraid I can't do anything for you just yet,' I said. 'Come back and see me in another thirty-five years, and I'll see what I can do.'

"He didn't move. He went rather pale. He hesitated for a moment and then he told me that he had had bad luck at cards for some time. He hadn't been willing to stick to bridge, he'd been playing poker, and he'd got trimmed. He hadn't a penny. He'd pawned everything he had. He couldn't pay his hotel bill and they wouldn't give him any more credit. He was down and out. If he couldn't get something to do he'd have to commit suicide.

"I looked at him for a bit. I could see now that he was all to pieces. He'd been drinking more than usual and he looked fifty. The girls wouldn't have thought so much of him if they'd seen him then.

"'Well isn't there anything you can do except play cards?' I asked him.

"'I can swim,' he said.

"'Swim!'

"I could hardly believe my ears; it seemed such an insane answer to give.

"'I swam for my university.'

"I got some glimmering of what he was driving at. I've known too many men who were little tin gods at their university to be impressed by it.

"'I was a pretty good swimmer myself when I was a young man,' I said.

"Suddenly I had an idea."

Pausing in his story, Burton turned to me.

"Do you know Kobe?" he asked.

"No," I said, "I passed through it once, but I only spent a night there."

"Then you don't know the Shioya Club. When I was a young man I swam from there round the beacon and landed at the creek of Tarumi. It's over three miles and it's rather difficult on account of the currents round the beacon. Well, I told my young namesake about it and I said to him that if he'd do it I'd give him a job.

"I could see he was rather taken aback.

"'You say you're a swimmer,' I said.

"'I'm not in very good condition,' he answered.

"I didn't say anything. I shrugged my shoulders. He looked at me for a moment and then he nodded.

"'All right,' he said. 'When do you want me to do it?'

"I looked at my watch. It was just after ten.

"'The swim shouldn't take you much over an hour and a quarter. I'll drive round to the creek at half past twelve and meet you. I'll take you back to the club to dress and then we'll have lunch together.'

"'Done,' he said.

"We shook hands. I wished him good luck and he left me. I had a lot of work to do that morning and I only just managed to get to the creek at Tarumi at half past twelve. But I needn't have hurried; he never turned up."

"Did he funk it at the last moment?" I asked.

"No, he didn't funk it. He started all right. But of course he'd ruined his constitution by drink and dissipation. The currents round the beacon were more than he could manage. We didn't get the body for about three days."

I didn't say anything for a moment or two. I was a trifle shocked. Then I asked Burton a question.

"When you made him that offer of a job, did you know he'd be drowned?"

He gave a little mild chuckle and he looked at me with those kind and candid blue eyes of his. He rubbed his chin with his hand.

"Well, I hadn't got a vacancy in my office at the moment."

1. Write an abstract of the article (100-150 words) and key words.(3-5 words /expressions ).

2. Analyze the structure of this article.

Directions: Divide this article into several parts and summarize the main idea for each part.

3. Write out your comments on the article

Directions: What is your understanding about the theme of this article? Please write out your points of view.