西安外国语大学翻译硕士考试试题

外国语大学2011年翻译硕士专业学位研究生招生试题科目：翻译硕士英语（代码：211）A卷注意事项：1. 请核对本场考试科目及代码与你所报考专业的考试安排是否一致。

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Task One: Vocabulary and Grammatical StructureSection ADirections: This section is designed to test your ability to interpret the meanings of words in different contexts. Read each of the following sentences carefully and select one word or phrase from the four choices that is closest in meaning to the underlined word in each sentence, and then write your answer on the Answer Sheet. (20%)1. Psychologists have done extensive studies of how well patients comply with doctors orders.[A] obey [B] understand[C] improve with [D] agree with2. Stars are composed of intensely hot gases and derive their energy from nuclear reactions occurring in the interiors.[A]extremely [B]uniformly[C]explosively [D] continually3. From1775 to 1776 the Americans undertook an unsuccessful campaign against the British in Canada.[A] wage [B] headed[C] Paid for [D] attended to4. Because of its old mannerisms, the praying mantis has always intrigued human beings.[A]fascinate [B]aggravated[C]offended [D]terrified5. Industrial self-sufficiency in the United States developed simultaneously with the mass production of textiles in New England.[A]smoothly [B]concurrently[C]effectively [D]spontaneously6. The initial appearance of the silver three-cent piece coincided with the first issue of three-cent stamps in 1851.[A] occurred at the same time as [B] collided with[C] was necessitated by [D] was similar to7. Chicago’s O’ Hare International Airport accommodates forty-four million passengers per year.[A] amazes [B] lures[C] handles [D] counts8. Regional planning deals with proposals concerning outlying communities and highways as well as with urban affairs.[A] outlandish [B] exclusive[C] exempted [D] remote9. The introduction of the bus signaled the eventual demise of the trolley car asa form of travel.[A] designation [B] mechanization[C] disappearance [D] friskiness10. In Silent Spring, Rachel Carson forcefully decried the indiscriminate use of pesticides.[A] haphazard [B] unpleasant[C] regional [D] periodic11.After its founding, the United States government followed a policy explicitly designed to aid national shipping.[A] prematurely [B] economically[C] specifically [D] proudly12.Before social inequality can be alleviated, its principal causes must be diagnosed.[A] denounced [B] relieved[C] analyzed [D] controlled13. Astronauts are subjected to the most rigorous training that has ever been devised for human beings.[A] demanded [B] created[C] diagnosed [D] allowed14. Weight lifting is the gymnastic sport of lifting weights in a prescribed manner.[A] vigorous [B] popular[C] certain [D] careful15. Project Skylab was designed to demonstrate that a person can work and live inspace for prolonged periods without ill effects[A] unexpected [B] obvious[C] adverse [D] immediate16. Plays that entail direct interaction between actor and audience present no unusual difficulties for actors.[A] advocate [B] involve[C] elicit [D] exaggerate17. Since speech is such a familiar activity, it is often regarded as a universal endowment.[A] event [B] habit[C] trait [D] gift18. In the Pacific Northwest, as climate and topography vary, so do the species that prevail in the forests.[A] rebuild [B] invade[C] dominate [D] tend19. In North America, the first canoes were constructed from logs and propelled by means of wooden pad.[A] carved [B] docked[C] driven forward [D] carried upright20. United States citizens are now enjoying better dental health, as shown by the declining incidence of tooth decay.[A] treatment [B] consequences[C] occurrence [D] misfortuneSection BDirections: In each of the following sentences, some part of the sentence or the whole is underlined. Rephrase the underlined part so as to express most effectively what is presented in the original sentence. Your correction should be dear and exact, without awkwardness, ambiguity or redundancy. Write your answers on the Answer Sheet. (10%)21. Credit cards are now accepted in exchange for many goods and services around the world and in some countries, like the Americans, is used even more widely than cash.22. Scholars recognized immediately that thelanguage experiments in Finnegan’s Wake are different than any other novel.23. When it rains outside, most parents prefer small children to play indoors.24. Required by law to register by the end of the year, the post office was crowded with legal aliens attempting to comply with the law before the deadline.25. In the past few years, significant changes have take place in the organization of our economy that will profoundly affect thecharacter of our labor unions as well as influencing consumer and industrial life.Task Two: Reading ComprehensionSection ADirections: Read the following two texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing [A], [B], [C] or [D]; write your answers on the Answer Sheet. (20%)Text1The ancient Greeks and the Chinese believed that we first clothed our bodies for some physical reason, such as protecting ourselves from theelements. Ethnologists and psychologists have invoked psychological reasons: modesty, taboo, magical influence, or the desire to please. Anthropological research indicates that the function of the earliest clothing was to carry objects. Our hunting-gathering ancestors had to travel great distances to obtain food. For the male hunters, carrying was much easier if they were wearing simple belts or animal skins from which they could hang weapons and tools. For the female gatherers, more elaborate carrying devices were necessary. Women had to transport collected food back to the settlement and also had to carry babies, so they required bags or slings.Another function of early clothing-providing comfort and protection—probably developed at the same time as utility. As human beings multiplied and spread out from the warm lands in which they evolved, they covered their bodies more and more to maintain body warmth. Today, we still dress to maintain warmth and to carry objects in our clothes. And like our hunting-gathering ancestors, most men still carry things on their person, as if they still needed to keep their arms free for hunting, while women tend to have a separate bag for carrying, as if they were still food-gatherers. But these two functions of clothing are only two of many uses to which we put the garments that we wear today.There is a clear distinction between attire that constitutes “clothing” and attire that is more aptly termed “costume”. We might say that clothing has to do with covering the body, and costume concerns the choice of a particular form of garment for a particular purpose. Clothing depends primarily on such physical conditions as climate, health, and textile, while costume reflects social factors such as personal status, religious beliefs, aesthetics, and the wish to be distinguished from or to emulate others.Even in early human history, costume fulfilled a function beyond that of simple utility. Costume helped to impose authority or inspire fear. A ch ieftain’s costume embodied attributes expressing his power, while a warrior’s costume enhanced his physical superiority and suggested he was superhuman. Costume often had a magical significance such as investing humans with the attributes of other creatures through the recent times, professional or administrative costume is designed to distinguish the wearer and to express personal or delegated authority. Costume communicates the status of the wearer, and with very few exceptions, the aim is to display as high a status as possible. Costume denotes power, and since power is often equated with wealth, costume has come to be an expression of social class and material prosperity.A uniform is a type of costume that serves the important function of displaying membership in a group: school, sports team, occupation, or armed force. Military uniform denotes rank and is intended not only to express group membership but also to protect the body and to intimidate.A soldier’s uniform says. “I am part of a powerful machi ne, and when you deal with me, you deal with my whole organization.” Uniforms are immediate beacons of power and authority. If a person needs to display power—a police officer, for example—then the body can be virtually transformed. Height can be exaggerated with protective headgear, thick clothing can make the body look broader and stronger, and boots can enhance the power of the legs. Uniforms also convey low social status; at the bottom of the scale, the uniform of the prisoner denotes membership in the society of convicted criminals.Religious costume signifies spiritual or superhuman authority and possesses a significance that identifies the wearer with a belief or god.A successful clergy has always displayed impressive investments of one kind or another that clearly demonstrate the religious leader’s dominant status.26. According to the passage, what aspect of humanity’s hunting-gathering past is reflected in the clothing of today?[A]People cover their bodies because of modesty.[B]Most men still carry objects on their person.[C] Women like clothes that are beautiful and practical.[D]Men wear pants, but women wear skirts or pants.27. Which sentence below best expresses the essential information in the underlined sentence in paragraph 3?[A] Clothing serves a physical purpose, while costume has a personal, social, or psychological function.[B] We like clothing to fit our body well,but different costumes fit differently depending on the purpose.[C] Both clothing and costume are types of attire, but it is often difficult to distinguish between them.[D] People spend more time in choosing special costumes than they do in selecting everyday clothing.28. It can be inferred from paragraph 4 that the author most likely believes whichof the following about costume?[A] We can learn about a society’s social structure by studying costume.[B] Costume used to serve a simple function, but now it is very complex.[C] The main purpose of costume is to force people to obey their leaders.[D] Costume is rarely a reliable indicator of a person’s material wealth.29. Why does the author discuss the police officer’s uniform in paragraph 5?[A] To describe the aesthetic aspects of costume.[B] To identify the wearer with a hero.[C] To suggest that police are superhuman.[D] To show how costume conveys authority.30. All of the following are likely to be indicated by a person’s costume except[A] playing on a football team.[B] being a prisoner[C] having a heart condition.[D] leading a religious ceremony.Text2The founders of the Republic viewed their revolution primarily in political rather than economic or social terms. And they talked about education as essential to the public good—a goal that took precedence over knowledge as occupational training or self-improvement. Over and over again, the Revolutionary generation, both liberal and conservative in outlook, asserted its conviction that the welfare of the Republic rested upon an educated citizenry and that schools, especially free public schools, would be the best means of educating the citizenry in civic values and the obligations required of everyone in a democratic republican society. All agreed that the principal ingredients of a civic education were literacy and the inculcation of patriotic and moral virtues, some others adding the study of history and the study of principles of the republican government itself.The founders, as was the case of almost all their successors, were long on exhortation and rhetoric regarding the value of civic education, but they left it to the textbook writers to distill the essence of those values for school children. Texts in American history and government appeared early as the 1790s. The textbook writers turned out to be very largely of conservative persuasion, more likely Federalist in outlook than Jeffersonian, and almost universally agreed that political virtue must rest upon moral and religious precepts. Since most textbook writers were New Englanders, this means that the texts were infused with Protestant and, above all, Puritan outlooks.In the first half of the Republic, civic education in the schoolsemphasized the inculcation of civic values and made little attempt to develop participatory political skills. That was a task left to incipient political parties, town meetings, churches, and the coffee or alehouses where men gathered for conversation. Additionally, as a reading of certain federalist papers of the period would demonstrate, the press probably did more to disseminate realistic as well as partisan knowledge of government than the schools. The goal of education, however, was to achieve a higher form of un um for the new Republic. In the middle half of the nineteenth century, the political values taught in the public and private schools did not change substantially from those celebrated in the first years of the Republic. In the textbooks of the day, their rosy hues if anything became golden. To the resplendent values of liberty, equality, and a benevolent Christian morality were now added the middle-class virtues—especially of New England—of hard work, honesty and integrity, the rewards of individual effort, and obedience to parents and legitimate authority. But of all the political values taught in school, patriotism was preeminent; and whenever teachers explained to school children why they should love their country above all else, the idea of liberty assumed pride of place.31. The passage deals primarily with the[A] content of early textbooks on American history and government.[B] role of education in late 18th- and early to mid-19th-century America.[C] influence of New England Puritanism on early American values.[D] establishment of universal, free public education in America.32. According to the passage, the founders of the Republic regarded education primarily as[A] a religious obligation. [B] a private matter[C] a matter of individual choice. [D] a political necessity.33. The author states that textbooks written in the middle part of the nineteenth century[A] departed radically in tone and style from earlier textbooks.[B] mentioned for the first time the value of liberty.[C] treated traditional civic virtues with even greater reverence.[D] were commissioned by government agencies.34. Which of the following would LEAST likely have been the subject of an early American textbook?[A] the American Revolution.[B] patriotism and other civic virtues[C] principles of American government.[D] vocational education35. The author implies that an early American Puritan would likely insist that[A] moral and religious values are the foundation of civic virtue.[B] textbooks should instruct students in political issues of vital concern to the community.[C] textbooks should give greater emphasis to the value of individual liberty than to the duties of patriotism.[D] private schools with a particular religious focus are preferable to public schools with no religious instruction.Section BDirections: Read the following text and answer the questions that follow. Write your answers on the Answer Sheet. (15%)The Greenhouse Effect and Global WarmingCarbon dioxide and other naturally occurring gases in the earth’s atmosphere create a natural greenhouse effect by trapping and absorbing solar radiation. These gases act as a blanket and keep the planet warm enough for life to survive and flourish. The warming of the earth is balanced by some of the heat escaping from the atmosphere back into space. Without this compensating flow of heat out of the system, the temperature of the earth’s surface and its atmosphere wo uld rise steadily. Scientists are increasingly concerned about a human-driven greenhouse effect resulting from a rise in atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases. The man-made greenhouse effect is the exhalation of industrial civilization. A major contributing factor is the burning of large amounts of fossil fuels—coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Another is the destruction of the world’s forests, which reduces the amount of carbon dioxide converted to oxygen by plants. Emissions of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, nitrous oxide, and methane from human activities will enhance the greenhouse effect, causing the earth’s surface to become warmer. The main greenhouse gas, water vapor, will increase in response to global warming and further enhance it.There is agreement within the scientific community that the buildup of green house gases is already causing the earth’s average surface temperature to rise. This is changing global climate at an unusually fast rate. According to the World Meteorological Organization, the earth’s average temperature climbed about 1 degree F in the past century, and nine of the ten warmest years on record have occurred since 1990. A United Nations panel has predicted that average global temperatures could rise as much as 10.5degrees F during the next century as heat-trapping gases from human industry accumulate in the atmosphere.What are the potential impacts of an enhanced green house effect? According to estimates by an international committee, North American climatic zones could shift northward by as much as 550 kilometers (340miles). Such a change in climate would likely affect all sectors of society. In some areas, heat and moisture stress would cut crop yields, and traditional farming practices would have to change. For example, in the North American grain belt, higher temperature and more frequent drought during the growing season might require farmers to switch from corn to wheat and to use more water for irrigation.Global warming may also cause a rise in sea level by melting polar ice caps. A rise in sea level would accelerate coastal erosion and inundate islands and low-lying coastal plains, some of which are densely populated. Millions of acres of coastal farmland would be covered by water. Furthermore, the warming of seawater will cause the water to expand, thus adding to the potential danger.Global warming has already left its fingerprint on the natural world. Two research teams recently reviewed hundreds of published papers that tracked changes in the range and behavior of plant and animal species, and they found ample evidence of plants blooming and birds nesting earlier in the spring. Both teams concluded that rising global temperatures are shifting the ranges of hundreds of species—thus climatic zones—northward. These studies are hard evidence that the natural world is already responding dramatically to climate change, even though the change has just begun. If global warming trends continue, changes in the environment will have an enormous impact on world biology. Birds especially play a critical role in the environment by pollinating plants, dispersing seeds, and controlling insect populations; thus, changes in their populations will reverberate throughout the ecosystems they inhabit.36. According to the passage, how do carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases affect the earth-atmosphere system?37. What can e inferred from paragraph 3 about global climate change?38. According to paragraph 4, what is one effect that climate change could have on agriculture in North America?39. What evidence does the author give that climate zones have shifted northward?40. An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by writing THREE sentences that express the most important ideas in the passage.Scientists are concerned about the greenhouse effect and its role in global warming.Task Three: Composition WritingDirections: Read the following essay question carefully, formulate a title based on the question and write a 400-word composition on the Answer Sheet. (35%)“Education has become the main provider of individual opportunity in our society. Just as property and money once were the key to success, education has now become the element that most ensures success in life.”Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated above. Support your point of view with reasons and/or examples from your own experience.外国语大学2011年翻译硕士专业学位研究生招生试题汉语写作与百科知识（代码：448）A卷注意事项：1. 请核对本场考试科目及代码与你所报考专业的考试安排是否一致。