中山大学研究生英语期末考试题

Passage 1One motivational analyst who became curious to know there had been such a great rise in impulse buying at supermarkets was James Vicary. He suspected that some special psychology must be going on inside the women as they shopped in supermarkets. His suspicion was that perhaps they underwent such an increase in tension when confronted with so many possibilities that they were forced into making quick purchases. He set out to find out if this was true. The best way to detect what was going on inside the shopper was through the use of a galvanometer or lie detector. That obviously was impractical. The next best thing was to use a hidden motion-picture camera and record the eye-blink rate of the women as they shopped. How fast a person blinks his eyes is a pretty good index of his state of inner tension. The average person, according to Mr. Vicary, normally blinks his eyes about 32 times a minute. If he is tense, he blinks them more frequently; and, under extreme tension, he may blink up to 50 or 60 times. If he is notably relaxed, on the other hand, his eye-blink rate may drop to a subnormal twenty or less.Mr. Vicary set up his cameras and started following the ladies as they entered the store. The results were startling, even to him. Their eye-blink rate, instead of going up to indicate mounting tension, went down and down, to a very subnormal fourteen blinks a minute. The ladies fell into what Mr. Vicary calls a hypnoidal trance, a light kind of trance that, he explains, is the first stage of hypnosis. Mr. Vicary has decided that the main cause of the trance is that the supermarket is packed with products which in former years would have been items only kings and queens could have afforded and here in this fairyland they were available to all. Mr. Vi cary theorizes: “Just within this generation, anyone can be a king or queen and go through these stores where the products say ‘buy me, buy me’.”1 Vicary’s curiosity was aroused by the fact that _________.A. there was a decrease in sales in supermarketsB. women were showing strong resistance to products in supermarketsC. there seemed to be no logic in women’s buying habitsD. women were shopping very carefully2 According to the article, eye-blink rate is an indication of ________.A. the truth or falsity of a statementB. the mental ability of a personC. blood pressureD. the emotional state of a person3 Mr. Vicary’s test ________________.A. proved his original hypothesis to be trueB. proved that the tension of a woman shopper, after entering the store, decreasedrather than increasedC. nullified the eye-blink rate as a measurement of tensionD. showed that a woman’s reaction to the products in a supermarket is impossible todetermine4 After his tests, Mr. Vicary concluded that _____________.A. shopping was apt to create serious nervous disordersB. a supermarket is a fantastic placeC. women are entranced by the many wonderful items available in supermarketsD. women develop an inferiority complex when in supermarkets5 Implied but not stated: _______________.A. Quick purchases are the result of inner tensionB. The first stage of hypnosis is a light tranceC. Research conducted by motivation analysis can disprove their original premisesD. Supermarkets seeking a fairyland atmosphere should install hidden movie cameras Passage 2In science, a theory is a reasonable explanation of observed events that are related. A theory often involves an imaginary model that helps scientists picture the way an observed event could be produced. A good example of this is found in the kinetic molecular theory, in which gases are pictured as being made up of many small particles that are in constant motion.A useful theory, in addition to explaining past observations, helps to predict events that have not as yet been observed. After a theory has been publicized, scientists design experiments to test the theory. If observations confirm the scientists’ predictions, the theory is supported. If observations do not confirm the predictions, the scientists must search further. There may be a fault in the experiment, or the theory may have to be revised or rejected.Science involves imagination and creative thinking as well as collecting information and performing experiments. Facts by themselves are not science. As the mathematician Jules Henri Poincare said: “Science is built with facts just as a house is built with bricks, but a collection of facts cannot be called science any more than a pile of bricks can be called a house.”Most scientists start an investigation by finding out what other scientists have learned about a particular problem. After known facts have been gathered, the scientist comes to the part of the investigation that requires considerable imagination. Possible solutions to the problem are formulated. These possible solutions are called hypotheses.In a way, any hypothesis is a leap into the unknown. It extends the scientist’s thinking beyond the known facts. The scientist plans experiments, performs calculations, and makes observations to test hypotheses. For without hypotheses, further investigation lacks purpose and direction. When hypotheses are confirmed, they are incorporated into theories.6 “Bricks” are mentioned in Paragraph 3 to indicate how _________.A. mathematicians approach scienceB. building a house is like performing experimentsC. science is more than a collection of factsD. scientific experiments have led to improved technology7 In the fourth paragraph, the author implies that imagination is most important toscientists when they ________.A. evaluate previous work on a problemB. formulate possible solutions to a problemC. gather known factsD. close an investigation8 In the last paragraph, the author refers to hypothesis as “a leap into the unknown” inorder to show that hypotheses ________________.A. are sometimes ill-conceivedB. can lead to dangerous resultsC. go beyond available factsD. require effort to formulate9 In the last paragraph, what does the author imply is a major function ofhypotheses?A. Sifting through known facts.B. Communicating a scientist’s thoughts to others.C. Providing direction for scientific research.D. Linking together different theories.10 Which of the following statements is supported by the passage?A. Theories are simply imaginary models of past events.B. It is better to revise a hypothesis than to reject it.C. A scientist’s most difficult task is testing hypotheses.D. A good scientist needs to be creative.Passage 3For most of us, the work is the central, dominating fact of life. We spend more than half our conscious hours at work, preparing for work, traveling to and from work. What we do there largely determines our standard of living and to a considerable extent the status we are accorded by our fellow citizens as well. It is sometimes said that because leisure has become more important the indignities and injustices of work can be pushed into a corner, that because most work is pretty intolerable, the people who do it should compensate for its boredom, frustrations and humiliations by concentrating their hopes on the other parts of their lives. I reject that as a counsel of despair. For the foreseeable future the material and psychological rewards which work can provide, and the conditions in which work is done, will continue to play a vital part in determining the satisfaction that life can offer. Yet only a small minority can control the pace at which they work or the conditions in which their work is done; only for a small minority does work offer scope for creativity, imagination, or initiative.Inequality at work and in work is still one of the cruelest and most glaring forms of inequality in our society. We cannot hope to solve the more obvious problems of industrial life, many of which arise directly or indirectly from the frustrations created by inequality at work, unless we tackle it head-on. Still less can we hope to create a decent and humane society.The most glaring inequality is that between managers and the rest. For most managers, work is an opportunity and a challenge. Their jobs engage their interest and allow them to develop their abilities. They are constantly learning; they are able to exercise responsibility; they have a considerable degree of control over their own and others’working lives. Most important of all, they have opportunity to initiate. By contrast, for most manual workers, and for a growing number of white-collar workers, work is a boring, dull, even painful experience. They spend all their working lives in conditions which would be regarded as intolerable --- for themselves --- by those who take the decisions which let such conditions continue. The majority have little control over their work; it provides them with no opportunity for personal development. Often production is so designed that workers are simply part of the technology. In offices, many jobs are so routine that workers justifiably feel themselves to be mere cogs in the bureaucratic machine. As a direct consequence of their work experience, many workers feel alienated from their work and their firm, whether it is in public or in private ownership.11 In the writer’s opinion, people judge others by_________.A. the type of work they doB. the place where they workC. the time they spend at workD. the amount of money they earn12 According to the writer, in the future, work will ________.A. matter less than it does nowB. be as important as it is nowC. be better paid than it is nowD. offer more satisfaction13 What does the writer think is needed to solve our industrial problems?A. A reduction in the number of strikesB. Equality in salariesC. A more equal distribution of responsibilityD. An improvement in moral standards14 What advantages does the writer say managers have over other workers?A. They cannot lose their jobs.B. They get time off to attend courses.C. They can work at whatever interests them.D. They can make their own decisions.15 Working conditions generally remain bad because _______________.A. the workers are quite satisfied with themB. no one can decide what to do about themC. managers see no need to change themD. office workers want to protect their positionsPassage 4Coincident with concerns about the accelerating loss of species and habitats has been a growing appreciation of the importance of biological diversity, the number of species in a particular ecosystem, to the health of the Earth and human being. Much has been written about the diversity of terrestrial organisms, particularly the exceptionally rich life associated with tropical rain-forest habitats. Relatively little has been said, however, about diversity of life in the sea even though coral reef systems are comparable to rain forests interms of richness of life.An alien exploring Earth would probably give priority to the planet’s dominant, m ost distinctive feature – ocean. Humans have a bias toward land that sometimes gets in the way of truly examining global issues. Seen from far away, it is easy to realize that landmasses occupy one-third of the Earth’s surface. Given that two-thirds of the Earth’s surface is water and that marine life lives at all levels of the ocean, the total three-dimensional living space of the ocean is perhaps 100 times greater than that of land and contains more than 90 percent of all life on Earth even though the ocean has fewer distinct species.The fact that half of the known species are thought to inhabit the world’s rain forests does not seem surprising, considering the huge numbers of insects that comprise the bulk of the species. One scientist found many different species of ants in just one tree from a rain forest. While every species is different from every other species, their genetic makeup constrains them to be insects and to share similar characteristics with 750,000 species of insects. If basic, broad categories such as phyla and classes are given more emphasis than differentiating between species, then the greatest diversity of life is unquestionably the sea. Nearly every major type of plant and animal has some representation there.To appreciate fully the diversity and abundance of life in the sea, it helps to think small. Every spoonful of ocean water contains life on the order of 100 to 100,000 bacterial cells plus assorted microscopic plants and animals, including larvas of organisms ranging from sponges and corals to starfish and clams and much more.16 What is the main point of the passage?A. Humans are destroying thousands of species.B. There are thousands of insect species.C. The sea is even richer in life than the rain forests.D. Coral reefs are similar to rain forests.17 Why does the author compare rain forests and coral reefs (Paragraph 1)?A. They are approximately the same size.B. They share many similar species.C. Most of their inhabitants require water.D. Both have many different forms of life.18 The passage suggests that most rain forest species are ________________.A. insectsB. bacteriaC. mammalsD. birds19 The author argues that there is more diversity of life in the sea than in the rainforests because ____________.A. more phyla and classes of life are represented in the seaB. there are too many insects to make meaningful distinctionsC. many insect species are too small to divide into categoriesD. marine life-forms reproduce at a faster rate20 Which of the following conclusions is supported by the passage?A. Ocean life is highly adaptive.B. More attention needs to be paid to preserving ocean species and habitats.C. Ocean life is primarily composed of plants.D. The sea is highly resistant to the damage done by pollutants.Passage 5Battles are like marriages. They have a certain fundamental experience they share in common; they differ infinitely, but sill they are all alike. A battle seems to me a conflict of will to the death in the same way that a marriage of love is the identification of two human beings to the end of the creation of life – as death is the reverse of life, and love of hate. Battles are commitments to cause death as marriages are commitments to create life. Whether, for any individual, either union results in death or in the creation of new life, each risks it – and in the risk commits himself.As the servants of death, battles will always remain horrible. Those who are fascinated by them are being fascinated by death. There is no battle aim worthy of the name except that of ending all battles. Any other conception is, literally, suicidal. The fascist worship of battle is a suicidal drive; it is love of death instead of life.In the same idiom, to triumph in battle over the forces which are fighting for death is – again literally –to triumph over death. It is a surgeon’s triumph as he cuts a body and bloodies his hands in removing a cancer in order to triumph over death that is in the body.In these thoughts I have found my own peace, and I return to an army that fights death and cynicism in the name of life and hope. It is a good army. Believe in it.21 Although the author says that battles are horrible, he also says that_________.A. most people find fascination in themB. there is no battle aim worthy of the nameC. one should love life and not deathD. fighting to end battles is justifiable22 The author states that one who fights a battle toward any end other than peace is________.A. tainted by fascismB. misguided and unworthyC. victimized by unconscious drives to killD. bent on his own destruction23 The article says that the individual, in battle and in marriage, must_________.A. make a unionB. compromise his beliefsC. take the risks he has committed himself toD. recognize that death is the reverse of life24 The article says that a surgeon can triumph when he_____________.A. performs a successful operationB. triumphs over the bodyC. removes a cancerD. cuts out that which is life-destroying25 Implied by the author, but not stated: “I have found peace as I _________.”A. think about life and deathB. return to an army that fights death and cynicismC. consider becoming a surgeonD. recognize that life and hope can triumph if one fights for themPassage 6There is little question that substantial labor-market differences exist between men and women. Among the most researched difference is the male-female wage gap. Many different theories are used to explain why men earn more than women. One possible reason is based on the limited geographical mobility of married women(Robert Frank, 1978). Family mobility is a joint decision in which the needs of the husband and wife are balanced to maximize family welfare. Job-motivated relocations are generally made to benefit the primary earner in the family. This leads to a constrained job search for the secondary earner, as he or she must search for a job in a limited geographic area. Since the husband is still the primary wage earner in many families, the job search of the wife may suffer. Individuals who are tied to a certain area are labled ‘tied-stayers’, while secondary earners who move for the benefit of the family are labeled ‘tied-movers’(Jacob Mincer, 1978).The wages of a tied-stayer or tied-mover may not be substantially lower if the family lives in or moves to a large city. If a large labor market has more cacancies, the wife may locate a wage offer near the maximum she would find with a nation-wide search. However, being a tied-stayer or tied-mover can lower the wife’s wage if the family lives in or moves to a small community. A small labor market will reduce the likelihood of her finding a job that utilizes her skills. As a result she may accept a job for which she is overqualified and thus earn a lower wage. This hypothesized relationship between the likelihood of being overqualified and SMSA size is termed ‘differential overqualification.’ Frank (1978) and Haim Ofek and Yesook Merrill(1994) provide support for the theory of differential overqualification by finding that the male-female wage gap is greater in smaller SMSA’s.While the results are consistent with the existence of differential overqualification, they may also result from other situations as well. Firms in small labor market may use their monopsony power to keep wages down. Local demand shocks are found to be a major source of wage variation both across and within local labor market(Roberts Topel, 1986). Since large labor markets are generally more diversified, a demand shock can have a substantial impact on immobile workers in small labor markets. Another reason for examining differential overqualification involves the assumption that there are more vacancies in large labor markets. While there is little doubt that more vacancies exist in large labor markets, there are also likely to be more people searching for jobs in large labor markets. If the greater number of vacancies is offset by the larger number of searchers, it is unclear whether women will be more likely to be overqualified in small labor market. Instead of relying on wages to determine if differential overqualification exists, we consider an explicit form of overqualification based on education.26 According to the author, the male-female wage gap ________.A is justifiedB has important repercussions on family lifeC represents a sexist attitude toward womenD is simply one of a considerable number of labor-market differences27 “Geographical mobility( Para. 1)” as used in the passage, refers to ________.A the way in which Americans tend to move from job to jobB the penchant wage-earners have to maximize family welfareC the necessity to relocate in order to increase wagesD all of the above28 The difference between a ‘tied-stayer’ and a ‘tied-mover’ is that ________.A the primary earner is forced to search for work in a specific area while thesecondary earner is freer to roam aboutB the former is obliged to remain in an area while the latter is notC the former is the wife and the later is the husbandD the latter’s salary is of secondary importance to the former’s salary29 With which of the following statements would the author agree?A The size of the labor market determines recompense.B The size of the labor market determines acquired skills utilization.C The size of the labor market determines the probability of matching skills withappropriate wage level.D All of the above.30 The names and dates between parentheses ________.A refer to bibliographical entriesB explain who discussed what and when they discussed itC are references to what the author has readD may be described by all of the abovePart II. Vocabulary and Structure （40x0.5=20points）Section A: In this section, there are 20 incomplete sentences, each with four items marked A, B, C and D. Choose one item that best completes the sentence and mark your choice on your ANSWER SHEET with a single line through the center.31.What else does talking frankly and informally mean but an invitation to ________without any career consequence?A. whoop it upB. unload opinionsC. hang aroundD. incur a debt32.The Single in the past, of the _______ego and much-watched answering machine, wastraditionally at the margin of society: a figure of fun, pity and awe.A. archlyB. gallantlyC. wobblyD. allegedly33. Mr. Smith, who was worried that the ban might ________ on the rights of law-abidinggun owners, had already voted against the bill.A. infringeB. IntegrateC. InferiorD. incorporate34. This event is called a party --- a place where one _______ without worrying aboutbeing judged by the cold standard of professional usefulness.A. rest upB. fork outC. pull backD. let loose35. A host of other singles services have sprung up, from dogwalkers to alarm systems toagencies that will water your plants or bring you aspirin and coffee when you’re _________.A. hung aroundB. hung overC. hung upD. hung on36. The layout of space characteristic of French cities is only one aspect of the theme ofcentralization that ______ French culture.A. fantasizesB. internalizesC. socializesD. characterizes37. In the United States, cities are usually laid out along a grid, streets and buildings arenumbered __________.A. quintessentiallyB.archaeologicallyC. sequentiallyD. dysfunctionally38. In middle-class America, specific spaces are _________ for specific activities.A. populatedB. dominatedC. designatedD. validated39. This pattern has been used for thousands of years, as demonstrated by thearchaeological evidence _______ in ancient Indian cities.A. undefinedB. uncoveredC. undoneD. untitled40. Today about a fifth of all married couples still ______ the old-style marriage in whichthe wife stays home to raise children and the husband works.A. opt withB. opt toC. opt forD. opt against41. He doesn't conform to the usual ________ of the city businessman with a dark suit androlled umbrella.A. stereotypeB. controversyC. geneticsD. custody42. They were told to take whatever action they ________ necessary.A. seemedB. inhibitedC. prohibitedD. deemed43. When the war broke out, a large number of refugees crossed the border, seeking_______ in the neighboring country.A. caseworkB. smugnessC. sancturyD. riff44. We should strengthen regulation, prevent and ______ financial risks so as to providebetter banking services for economic and social development.A. plunkB. defuseC. violateD. strive45. Bothered by terrorism, world leaders are now united in their _____ for peace.A. questB. intimacyC. validationD. condo46. With his prison record and lack of experience, he’s already got two _____ against himwhen he applies for a job.A. advantagesB. aspirationsC. strikesD. knockers47. Robert has developed a ________ on his shoulder about not going to universitybecause of his poor family.A. chopB. carpC. chipD. chaw48. New computer systems have made old methods of data processing _______ .A. unfazedB. pretentiousC. substantiveD. obsolete49. Although they are always at the center of things, they tend to be loners and are ____ tostress when life becomes difficult.A. proneB. aboutC. motiveD. sturdy50. In recent years, young parents, female professionals, and well-educated parents aremore likely to ______ their children into more equal gender roles.A. perceiveB. dominateC. socializeD. prescribe Part BDirections: In this section, there are 20 complete sentences, each with an underlined part. Replace each underlined word/phrase with one of the four items marked A, B, C and D that best keeps its meaning and mark your choices on your ANSWER SHEET with a single line through the center.51.In view of the insecurity of online shopping, doing a little bit of research beforepurchasing will protect you against a dodgy seller trying to pull a fast one.A.make profitB. deceiveC. get rich quickD. make a deal52. She hasn’t ruled out marriage, but wouldn’t give up her freedom for a man.A. clutchedB. intrudedC. excludedD. included53. The dilemma posed by modern medical technology has created the growing newdiscipline of bioethics.A.ProposedB. imposedC. presentedD. represented54. Global warming could wreak havoc in China. The rise in temperatures would worsenthe water shortage problem in North China, in the area of Three Gorges Dam it warned heavy rainfall and could trigger landslides or mudflows,A.vistaB. libidoC. damageD. fusion55. Married types who have bickered once too often about toothpaste caps or dust bunniesare opting to live apart in peace rather than together in stress.A. groanedB. trampedC. strainedD. quarrelled56. The point of an office party is not whooping it up or telling people off, it is showingappreciation of the staff.A. reprimandingB. remindingC. commandingD. demanding57. In the wake of technology’s advances in medicine, a heated debate is taking place inhospitals and nursing homes across the country.A.WithB. WithoutC. ForD. Against58. The doctors threatened to take us to court if we didn’t go along with their procedures.A. coincide withB. agree withC. afflict withD. grapple with59. Doctor’s power to treat with an array of space-age techniques has outstripped thebody’s capacity to heal.A. excelledB. excludedC. exceededD. externalized60. Millions of singles yearning for escape zones or solitude are straining Europe’s cityhousing market.A. opting forB. fighting forC. searching forD. longing for61. The little girl regarded me with suspicion as I approached the door.A. condonedB. appalledC. frayedD. gazed at62. With the development of science and technology, some scientists believe that soon itwill be commonplace for people to travel to the moon.A. ordinaryB. unusualC. impulsiveD. devastating63. When the girl was not elected for the varsity team, her mother flew into a rage, cursingand calling the coach all sorts of names.。