翻译大赛初试试题

湖北省暨武汉地区第十届外语翻译大赛初赛试题

英语专业组、英语非专业组

( for English majors and non-English majors)

I.Beneath each of the following sentences, there are four choices marked A, B, C and D.

Choose the one that best completes the sentence. For 5, please choose the one that has the same meaning as the word in quotes. (9×2%=18%)

1.It is no accident that most people find Davis‟ book disturbing, for it is___to undermine a

number beliefs they have long___.

A.calculated…cherished

B.intended…denied

C.anxious…misunderstood

D.reputed…anticipated

2.According to one political theorist, a regime that has as its goal absolute___, without any

___ law or principle, has declared war on justice.

A.respectability…codification of

B.supremacy…suppression of

C.autonomy…accountability to

D.fairness…deviation from

3.The reason ___he stole the money is ___he wanted to buy food.

A.why…because

B.that…because

C.\ …that

D.that…that

4.Ben hasn‟t eaten.

----Don‟t worry. ___him a sandwich.

A.I will make

B.I am going to make

5.The criminal was asked to aid police in their … enquiry‟ .

A.interview

B. investigation

C. questions

6.___the U.S. dollar, its value increased by more than 15 percent.

A.About

B. Among

C. Against

D. On

7.Among all societies legal marriage is usually accompanied by some kind of ceremony

that expresses group ____of the union.

A.opinion

B. coercion

C. sanction

D. insistence

8.At first, I found her gravity rather intimidating; but, as I saw more of her, I found that___

was very near the surface.

A.seriousness

B. confidence

C. laughter

D. determination

9.Just as astrology was for centuries ___faith, countering the strength of established

churches, so today believing in astrology is an act of ___ the professional sciences.

A.an individual …rebellion by

B.an accepted…antagonism toward

C. a heretical…support for

D.an underground…defiance against

II.(1) Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each of the questions.

(9×2%=18%)

Passage 1

The surprising thing about the War of Independence when you compare it with other wars of liberation is not that the Americans won, but that they did not win more easily. All they had to do to gain independence was to hold what they had. The British, on the contrary, had to reconquer a vast territory in order to win. To get troops in action against the “ rebels” of 1775---83, the British government had to send them by bulky, slow-moving sailing vessels which never took less than four weeks ( and often ten) to cross the Atlantic. Moreover, those who “came three thousand miles and died, to keep the Past upon its throne” had to be armed, clothed, and even partly fed from England, which meant more shipping , more delays, more losses at sea, such expense as had never been known in English history.

1.By using the terms, “War of Independence”and “other wars of liberation”, the author

indicates that he

A.wishes that the British had won.

B.understands the American point of view.

C.is an impartial observer.

D.is careful to use the correct terminology.

2.The author is assuming that the reader

A.has a preconceived bias in favor of the American war effort.

B.has a preconceived bias in favor of the British.

C.is unbiased in viewing the war.

D.is trying to decide which side deserved to win.

3.Which of the following sentences, except for a few emotive words, is a statement of fact?

A.“ The surprising thing…”

B.“ All they had…”

C.“ To get troops…”

D.none of the above.

Passage 2

The seas contain very few animals outwardly as unattractive as the oyster. Misshapen, drab, practically motionless, and devoid of expression, the oyster presents little to stir in the imagination or aesthetic sensibilities. Nevertheless, in its prosaic way, the oyster contributes more to the welfare of man than any other invertebrate of the sea, and its geologic history is long and informative. Kilometer after kilometer of oyster banks and reefs fringe the warmer borders of the continents, furnishing food and raw materials for man. The approximate annual world production of oyster meat approaches 54 million kilograms, and in several countries, especially the United States, France, the Netherlands, Japan, and Australia, oyster fishing is an important industry, Oyster shells are dredged by the thousands of tons from shallow banks and used for construction material and other purposes. A number of mollusks popularly called oysters are not really members of the genus Ostrea; among these are “ pearl oysters”, genus Melagrina. More than 1,000