英美报刊选读

考试科目：英美报刊选读考试时间：120分钟试卷总分100分一、Reading Comprehension(60%)Passage 1The distinctive architectural feature of the typical Broadway theater is the juxtaposition of two almost independent buildings facing and opening intoone another through a proscenium arch. The audience sits in the auditorium structure and watcher the actors perform in the stage house. This separation is more than an aesthetic impression, because the building codes require that a physical barrier protect the audience from a fire starting on the stage. A fireproof wall, rather than a mere partition separates the structures, and this separation is completed by a fireproof curtain that is rigged to fall automatically and close tire proscenium opening in case of fire. Automatic fire doors similarly close all other openings between the two structures. The codes keep such openings to a minimum.This separation came about in the nineteenth century in the United States as a result of theater fires. It has produced a fundamental structural change from previous centuries without making much corresponding change in the appearance of the building. Most theaters of the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries were remodeled from banquet hall, tennis court, and other rectangular halls g and remained essentially a single structure with a thin partition for the proscenium wall.So far as the audience is concerned, a theater is primarily a place for entertainment. Its great attraction is the opportunity it affords for vicariousexperience. The audience approaches the theater with the expectation of some form of glamour, excitement, or emotional vividness. The architect and the decorator try to sustain and increase this excitement and anticipation as the spectator moves through the theater. One of the familiar architectural devices for this effect is spaciousness of lobby, foyer and auditorium. Color and ornamentation are other devices for the same purpose, as seen in almost all theaters built before the twentieth century.1. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?a. Decorating Trends in the Theater.b. Theater Designs of the Future.c. Architectural Features of the Broadway Theater.d. Famous Architects of the Modern Theater.2. According to passage, what distinguishes many present-day theaters from those built prior to the nineteenth century?a. Large entrance, lobby and auditorium.b. Two buildings separated by an arch.c. Attractive interior decorations.d. Separate stages for each act.3. Which of the following materials would not be used to build a proscenium arch?a. Wood.b. Concrete.c. Metal.d. Marble.4. Why was it necessary to change the fundamental structure of theaters in the nineteenth century?a. The curtain became a necessity, as production grew longer.b. The auditorium had to accommodate more spectators.c. Modern plays required larger stage areas.d. There were too many theater fires.5. Where in the passage does the author mention the designs of theaters built before the nineteenth century?a. Lines5-7.b. Lines 10-11.c. Lines 13-15.d. Lines 21-23.6. In line 2, paragraph 3, the word “it” re fers toa. attractionb. theaterc. audienced. entertainmentPassage 2It was not “the comet of the century” experts predicted it might be. Nevertheless, Kohoutek has provided a bonanza of scienti fic information. It wasfirst spotted 370 million miles from the earth, by an astronomer who was searching sky for asteroids, and after whom the comet was named. Scientists who traced Kohoutek ten month before it passed the earth predicted the comet would be a brilliant spectacle. But Kohoutek fell short of this prediction, disappointing millions of amateur sky watchers, when it proved too pale to be seen with the unaided eye. Researchers were delighted nonetheless with the new information they were able to glean from their investigation of the comet. Perhaps the most significant discovery was the identification of two important chemical compounds-methyl cyanide and hydrogen cyanide-never seen in comets before, but found in the far reaches of interstellar space. This discovery revealed new clues about the origin of comets. Most astronomers agree that comets are primordial remnant from the formation of the solar system, but whether they were born between Jupiter and Neptune or much farther out toward interstellar space has been the subject of much debate. If compounds no more complex than ammonia and methane key components of Jupiter, were see in comets, it would suggest that comets form within the planetary orbits. But more complex compounds, such as the methyl cyanide found in Kotoutek, point to formation far beyond the planets; there the deep freeze at space has kept them unchanged.1. What is the subject of the passage?a. What was learned from Kohoutek.b. What was disappointing about Kohoutek.c. Where Kohoutek was spotted.d. How Kohoutek was tracked.2. Why was Kohoutek referred to as the comet of the century?a. It was thought to be extremely old.b. It passes the earth once a century.c. Scientists predicted is would be very bright.d. Scientists have been tracking it for a century.3. In what respect was Kohoutek a disappointment?a. It could be seen only through special equipment.b. It did not approach the earth.c. It did not provide valuable scientific information.d. It was moving too rapidly for scientists to photograph.4. Before the investigation on Kotoutek, where had methyl cyanide been known to exist?a. In comets.b. On asteroids.c. Between Jupiter and Neptune.d. Beyond the solar system.5. According to the passage, what is one major component of Jupiter?a. Hydrogen cyanide.b. Methyl cyanide.c. Hydrogen.d. Ammonia.6. What aspect of Kohoutek did scientists find most interesting?a. Its shape.b. Its composition.c. Its orbit.d. Its size.7. Which of the following question is best answered by information gained from Kohoutek?a. Where were comets formed?b. When were comets formed?c. When was the solar system formed?d. How was the solar system formed?Passages3How many people in the world speak English as a first native language? Exact information this point is not available, but an estimate of 230 million can not very wide of the mark. Of these, 145 million live in the United States, a little less than 55 million in the United Kingdom and Ireland and something like 30 million in the British dominions and colonial possessions. It is even more difficult to arrive at a figure representing those who speak English as a second or auxiliary language. A reasonable conservative conclusion would thus place the total number of speakers of English between 300 million and 325 million, about one-seventh of the world's population.If one thinks solely in terms of total numbers of speakers, it must be conceded that some authorities place Chinese the various Indian languages, and Russian ahead of English; others only Chinese. Both Chinese and Indian, however, are terms covering a large number of mutually unintelligible dialects y and though the numbers of these languages may seem impressive, communication within the languages is much more restricted than in English. Total numbers, moreover, constitute but one phase of the matter. The factor of geographical distribution is equally, possibly even more, significant. English is spoken as a first or native language on at least four continents of the world; Russian on two, Chinese and the Indian language on one. English is without question the closest approach to a world language.It goes without saying that no two persons ever have an identical command of their common language. Certainly they have not precisely the same vocabulary. There are at least minor differences in pronunciation, indeed the same individual will not pronounce his vowels and consonants in absolutely identical fashion every time he utters them. Everyone possesses in addition certain individual traits of grammatical form and syntactical order, constituting that peculiar and personal quality of language which we term style. All of this is implicit in the well-known phrase “style is the man”. No two men, no two styles are the same. If this is true of but two Persons, the potential of difference resident in a language spoken by more than 200 million truly staggers the imagination.1. According to the author, it could be said that .a. more people speak Chinese dialects than Englishb. more people speak English as an auxiliary-language than as a first languagec. about one-seventh of the world’s population speaks Russiand. more people speak English in the UK than in Ireland2. The passage implies that .a. a little less than half of the native English speakers in the world live in the United Statesb. the 55 million inhabitants of the British Isles speak like the 30 million inhabitants of the ex-British dominions and coloniesc. about one-tenth of the total English-speaking world population lives in ex-British dominions and coloniesd. to suppose 230 million people speak English as a native language would certainly be an understatement3. One reason given for why English is the closest approach to world language is that ______.a. Chinese and Indian languages are mutually unintelligibleb. Chinese is too complex to be a world languagec. Russian is only spoken on two continentsd. there are more native speakers of English than of any other language4. According to the author, the fact that the same individual will not pronounce his vowels and consonants identically every time shows that __________.a. everyone has their own literary styleb. mutual intelligibility is a mythc. people's vocabularies varyd. no two people speak the language in exactly the same wayPassag4The majority of successful senior managers do not closely follow the classical rational model of first clarifying goals, assessing the problem, formulating options, estimating likelihood of success, making a decision, and only then taking action to implement the decision. Rather, in their day-to-day tactical maneuvers, these senior executives rely on what is vaguely termed “intuition” to manage a network of interrelated pr oblems that require them to deal with ambiguity, inconsistency, novelty and surprise, and to integrate action into the process of thinking.Generations of writers on management have recognized that some practicing managers rely heavily on intuition. In general, however, such writers display a poor grasp of what intuition is. Some see it as the opposite of rationality. Other view it as an excuse for capriciousness.Isenberg’s recent research on the cognitive process of senior managers reveals that managers intuition is neither of th ese. Rather, senior managers use intuition in at least five distinct ways. First, they intuitively sense when a problem exists. Second, managers rely on intuition to perform well-learned behavior patterns rapidly. This intuition is not arbitrary or irrational but is based on years of painstaking practice and hands-on experience that build skills. A third function of intuition is to synthesize isolated bits of data and practice into an integrated picture, often in an "Aha" experience. Fourth, some managers use intuition as a check on the results of more rational analysis. Most senior executives are familiar with the formal decision analysis models and tools, and those who use such systematic methods for reaching decisions are occasionally leery of solutions suggested by these method which run counter their sense of the correct course of action. Finally, managers can use intuition to bypass in-depth analysis and move rapidly to engender a plausible solution. Used in this way, intuition is an almost instantaneous cognitive process in which a manager recognizes familiar patterns.One of the implications of the intuitive style of executive management is that “thinking” is inseparable from acting. Since managers often “know” what is right before they can analyze and explain it, they frequently act first and explain later. An analysis is inextricably tied to action in thinking action cycles, in which managers develop thoughts about their companies and organizations not by analyzing a problematic situation and then acting, but by acting and analyzing in close concert.Given great uncertainty of many of the management issues that they face, senior managers often instigate a course of action simply to learn more about an issue. They then use the results of the action to develop a more complete understanding of the issuer One implication of thinking acting cycle is that action is often part of defining the problem, not just implementing the solution.1. According to the passage, senior manager use intuition in all of the following ways except to .a. speed up the creation of a solution to a problemb. identify a problemc. bring together disparate factsd. stipulate clear goal2. The passage suggests which of the following abo ut the “writers on management” mentioned in line 11?a. They have criticized managers for not following the classical rational model of decision analysis.b. They have not based their analyses on a sufficiently large sample of actual managers.c. They have relied in drawing their conclusions on what managers say rather than on what managers do.d. They have misunderstood how managers use intuition in making business decisions.3. Which of the following best exemplifies “an ‘Aha’ experience”?a. A manager risks raking an action whose outcome is unpredictable to discover whether the action changes the problems at hand.b. A manager performs well-learned and familiar Behavior patterns in creative and uncharacteristic ways to solve a problem.c. A manager suddenly connects seemingly unrelated facts and experiences to create a pattern relevant to the problem at hand.d. A manager rapidly identifies the methodology used to compile data yielded by systematic analysis4. According to the passage the classical model of decision analysis includes all the following except ___________.a. evaluation of problemb. creation of clear goals to be reached by the decisionc. establishment of clear goals to be reached by the decisiond. action undertaken in order to discover more information about a problem5. It can be inferred from the passage that which the following would most probably be one major difference in behavior between Manager X, who uses intuition to reach decisions, and Manager Y , who uses only formal decision analysis?a. Manager X analyzes first and then acts; Manager Y does notb. Manager X checks possible solution to a problem by systhematic analysis; Manager does not.c. Manager X takes action in order to arrive at the solution to a problem; Manager Y does not.d. Manager Y draws on years of hands-on experience in creating a solution to a problem; Manager X does not.6. It can be inferred from the passage that thinking/acting cycles (line 5, last paragraph) in managerial practice would be likely to result in which of the followingⅠ. A manager analyzes a network of problem and then acts on the basis of that analysis.Ⅱ. A manager gathers data by acting and observing the effects of actionⅢ. A manager takes action without being able to articulate reasons for that particular action.a. a. I only.b. Ⅱonly.c. Ⅰand Ⅱ.d. Ⅱand Ⅲ.7. The passage provides support for which of the following statements?a. Managers who rely on intuition are more successful than those who rely on formal decision analysis.b. Managers cannot justify their intuitive decisions.c. Managers' intuition works contrary to their rational and analytical skillsd. Intuition rabies managers to employ their practical experience more efficiently.8. Which of the following best describes the organization of the first paragraph of the passage?a. An assertion is made and a specific supporting example is givenb. A conventional model is dismissed and an alternative introduced.c. The results of recent research are introduced and evaluated.d. Two opposing points of view are presented and evaluated.二、Translate the following sentences: (30%)1.Crackdown on loan repayment penaltiesPeople who repay loans early will get a fairer deal under changes outlined today.2. .Schools and colleges encouraged to go greenGreen action plans for schools, colleges and universities will encourage them to care for the environment.3.Hong Kong was hit hard by Sars and had a difficult year but is ‘bouncing back’, Prime Minister Tony Blair has said during h is visit to the region.4.Frequently asked questions about Social Security’s future; how we can meet its long -term financing challenges.5.Extra places confirm faith in foundation degreesThere will be an extra 10,000 places on foundation degree courses next year, giving more people a chance to study for a vocationally-focused higher education qualification.三．Answer the following question:What are about “The Inverted Pyramid” in reading American & British News Publications?参考答案：一、 一、 Reading ComprehensionPassage 1：1.c 2.b 3.a 4.d 5.c 6.bPassage 2：1.a 2.c 3.a 4.d 5.d 6.b 7.aPassage 3：1.a 2.c 3.c 4.dPassage 4：1.d 2.d 3.c 4.d 5.c 6.d 7.d 8.b二、Translate the following sentences:1． 严罚贷款不偿还行为今天已提出纲要对提前偿还贷款者将获相当的报酬2． 鼓励大中小学校参加绿色行动大中小学校的绿色计划将鼓励学生关心周边环境。