PETS 第五级
试卷(八)
Model Test Eight
Listening Comprehension
Section Ⅰ
Directions:
This section is designed to test your ability to understand spoken English. You will hear a selection of
recorded materials and you must answer the questions that accompany them. There are THREE parts in this
section: Part A, Part B, and Part C.
Remember, while you are doing the test, you should first put down your answers in your test booklet. NOT
on the ANSWER SHEET. At the end of the listening comprehension section, you will have 5 minutes to transfer
your answers from your test booklet onto ANSWER SHEET 1.
If you have any questions, you may raise your hand NOW as you will not be allowed to speak once the test
has started.
Now look at Part A in your test booklet.
Part A
You will hear a conversation. As you listen, answer Question 1 to 10 by circling True or False. You will hear
the conversation ONLY ONCE.
You now have 60 seconds to read Question 1～10.
1. The speaker knows a few Chinese students.
2. The speaker thinks most Chinese students in USA are trying hard to adjust themselves to the American
life.
3. Interactions with Americans tend to be limited to relatively formal, academic settings.
4. Only those who have spent years in the United States can talk freely with American friends about
sophisticated subjects such as race relations and popular music.
5. Chinese students say they can't join the extracurricular and social activities because of financial reasons.
6. The speaker does not think the reasons given by Chinese students about lack of social activities are
grounded.
7. Most Chinese students try to get to know the foreign country from the inside.
8. The role of a cultural interpreter is as important as that of being an engineer or biologist.
9. Many Chinese students who have studied in the United States return to China to contribute to their
homeland's development.
10. The 21st century Chinese students in the United States will recognize their crucial function in the process
of furthering U. S. -China understanding.
Part B
You will hear 3 conversations or talks and you must answer the questions by choosing A, B, C or D. You will
hear the recording ONLY ONCE.
Questions 11～13 are based on the following talk. You now have 15 seconds to read Questions 11～13.
11. The author implies that social behavior of baboons is ______ .
A. predictable
B. practical
C. political
D. primitive
12. According to the passage, the researchers were surprised that chimpanzees had such ______ .
A. temporary associations
B. humanlike families
C. violent conflicts
D. large harems
13. According to the passage, the membership of a chimpanzee band may change several times in a ______ .
A. day
B. week
C. month
D. year
Questions 14～16 are based on the following talk. You now have 15 seconds to read Questions 14～16.
14. The passage mentions all of the following as factors important to the success of a new food crop
EXCEPT the ______ .
A. practicality of storage of the crop
B. security of the crop yield
C. quality of the crop's protein
D. cultural acceptability of the crop
15. The author suggests that, in most developing countries, extensive government intervention accompanying
the introduction of a food innovation will ______ .
A. usually be sufficient to guarantee the financial success of the innovation
B. be necessary to ensure that the benefits of the innovation will be spread throughout the society
C. normally occur only when the innovation favors large landowners
D. generally cost the country more than will be earned by the innovation
16. The author provides a sustained argument to support which of the following assertions?
A. Profitability is neither necessary nor sufficient for a new technology to be adopted.
B. Profitability is the key factor guiding technological change.
C. Economic factors and governmental policies strongly influence the ultimate success of any innovation.
D. Innovations carrying high rewards for big agribusiness groups harm the poor.
Questions 17～20 are based on the following talk. You now have 20 seconds to read Questions 17～20.
17. A working-class wife thinks that her husband ______ .
A. gets his own way in everything
B. is the only master of the house
C. is sometimes an absolute ruler of the family
D. understands now the role of the family is changing
18. A working-class wife will, on the whole, obey her husband ______ .
A. supporting he is not lazy and selfish in the family
B. only if he is considerate and helpful to her
C. unless he keeps her well informed of the world
D. since he is the person who earns most of the family money
19. What does she mean when a middle-aged wife says to a younger one "He is good to you, isn't he?"
A. He gives her a large housekeeping allowance.
B. He can understand her feelings and problems.
C. He will not beat her even though he is rough.
D. He often speaks quietly and fondly to her.
20. It is learned from the passage that ______ .
A. wives' obedience to husbands doesn't mean women have no say in family matters
B. women show no sign of dissatisfaction with their family life
C. man's role as lord and master in the working-class house is accepted by all
D. men's rough manners to wives can often be understood and forgiven
Part C
You will hear a talk about womens social role. As you listen, you must answer Questions 21-30 by writing
NO MORE THAN THREE words in the space provided on the right. You will hear the talk TWICE.
You now have 60 seconds to read Questions 21-30.
21. As a grown-up, how does the speaker see herself in the mirror?
22. Who has a great influence on the speaker's liking to look into the mirror?
23. It was not the ______ that her granny meant when she said "women can't be seen".
24. What duty has her granny fulfilled through years of toil?
25. Even though she could see herself in the mirror of the dressing table, she was never visible in the
______ .
26. What can the speaker do that her granny could not have dreamed of?
27. What is the misconception that is still dominating many people's minds?
28. What are women expected to be when men are encouraged to compete and to assert themselves?
29. Whose responsibility is it to let women see themselves in the mirror of society?
30. What does the passage mainly talk about?
Section Ⅱ
Use of English
Read the following text and fill each of the numbered spaces with ONE suitable word. Write your answers on
ANSWER SHEET 1.
Do you believe that only boys do well in science? Does it seem to you that (31) have better vocabularies
than boys? (32) your opinion, are boys better at building thins? If your answer to each of those questions is
"Yes", you (33) right, according to an article in Current Science. There are exceptions, but here are the facts.
On the (34) , males score higher on tests that measure mathematical reasoning, mechanical ability, and
problem-solving skills. (35) show superior ability in tests measuring vocabulary, spelling, and memory. But
these (36) will probably not always exist. In the future, a person's abilities may not be determined (37) sex.
As one scientist (38) "Nothing is impossible for a person to be or do. "
In several recent studies, young babies have been observed and tested to discover (39) different abilities
are developed. A scientific team headed by Jerome Kagan, a psychologist at Harvard University, is studying the
thinking ability of children 11.5 months (40) . The test is a simple one. The (41) , while seated on it
mother's lap, watches a "show" on a small theater stage.
In Act One of the show, an orange-colored block is lifted from blue box and moved slowly across the stage.
Then (42) is returned to the box. This is repeated six times. Act (43) is similar, except that the orange block
is smaller. Baby boys do not seem to notice the difference in the size of the block, but girls immediately become
excited and begin to make noises that sound (44) language. They seem to be trying to talk.
It is (45) that bones, muscles, and nerves develop faster in baby girls. Usually, too, baby girls talk (46)
an earlier age than boys do. Scientists think there is a physical reason (47) this. They believe that nerves in the
left side of the brain develop faster in girls than in boys. And it is this side of the (48) that strongly influences
an individual's ability to use words, to spell, and to remember things.
By the time they start to school, therefore, little girls have an advantage that boys do not have. Girls are
physically more ready to (49) facts, to spell, and to read. These, of course, are (50) that are important in
elementary school.
Section Ⅲ
Reading Comprehension
Part A
Read the following texts answer the questions accompany them by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your
answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.
Text 1
The British psychoanalyst John Bowlby maintains that separation from the parents during the sensitive
"attachment" period from birth to three may sear a child's personality and predispose to emotional problems in
later life. Some people have drawn the conclusion from Bowlby's work that children should not be subjected to
day care before the age of three because of the parental separation it entails, and many people do believe this. But
there are also arguments against such a strong conclusion.
Firstly, anthropologists point out that the insulated love affair between children and parents found in modern
societies does not usually exist in traditional societies. For example, in some tribal societies, such as the Ngoni,
the father and mother of a child did not rear their infant alone-far from it. Secondly, common sense tells us that
day care would not be so widespread today if parents, care-takers found children had problems with it. Statistical
studies of this kind have not yet been carried out, and even if they were, the results would be certain to be
complicated and controversial. Thirdly, in the last decade there have been a number of careful American studies of
children in day care, and they have uniformly reported that day care had a neutral or slightly positive effect on
children's development. But tests that have had to be used to measure this development are not widely enough
accepted to settle the issue.
But Bowlby's analysis raises the possibility that early day care has delayed effects. The possibility that such
care might lead to, say, more mental illness or crime 15 or 20 years later can only be explored by the use of
statistics. Whatever the long-term effects, parents sometimes find the immediate effects difficult to deal with.
Children under three are likely to protest at leaving their parents and show unhappiness. At the age of three or
three and a half almost all children find the transition to nursery easy, and this is undoubtedly why more and more
parents make use of child care at this time. The matter, then, is far from clear-out, though experience and available
evidence indicate that early care is reasonable for infants.
51. Which of the following statements would Bowlby support?
A. Statistical studies should be carried out to assess the positive effect of day care for children at the age of
three or older.
B. Early day care can delay the occurrence of mental illness in children.
C. The first three years of one's life is extremely important to the later development of personality.
D. Children under three get used to the life at nursery schools more readily than children over three.
52. Which of the following is derivable from Bowlby's work?
A. Mothers should not send their children to day care centers until they are three years of older.
B. Day care nurseries have positive effects on a child's development.
C. A child sent to a day care center before the age of three may have emotional problems in late life.
D. Day care would not be so popular if it has noticeable negative effects on a child's personality.
53. It is suggested that modem societies differ from traditional societies in that ______ .
A. the parents-child relationship is more exclusive in modem societies
B. a child more often grows up with his/her brothers or sisters in traditional societies
C. mother brings up children with the help of her husband in traditional societies
D. children in modem societies are more likely to develop mental illness in later years
54. Which of the following statements is NOT an argument against Bowlby's theory?
A. Many studies show that day care has a positive effect on children's development
B. Day care is safe, otherwise there wouldn't be so many nursery schools.
C. Separation from parents for very young children is common in some traditional societies.
D. Parents find the immediate effects of early day care difficult to deal with.
55. Which of the following best expresses the writer's attitude towards early day care?
A. Children under three should stay with their parents.
B. Early day care has positive effects on children's development.
C. The issue is controversial and its settlement calls for the use of statistics.
D. The effects of early day care on children are exaggerated and parents should ignore the issue.
Text 2
Atmospheric pressure can support a column of water up to 10 meters high. But plants can move water much
higher: the sequoia tree can pump water to its very top, more than 100 meters above the ground. Until the end of
the nineteenth century, the movement of water in trees and other tall plants was a mystery. Some botanists
hypothesized that the living cells of plants acted as pumps. But many experiments demonstrated that the stem of
plants in which all the cells are killed can still move water to appreciable heights. Other explanations for the
movement of water in plants have been based on root pressure, a push on the water from the roots at the bottom of
the plant. But root pressure is not nearly great enough to push water to the tops of tall trees. Furthermore, the
conifers, which are among the tallest trees, have unusually low root pressures.
If water is not pumped to the top of a tall tree, and if it is not pushed to the top of a tall tree, then we may ask:
How does it get there? According to the currently accepted cohesion-tension theory, water is pulled there. The pull
on a rising column of water in a plant results form the evaporation of water at the top of the plant. As water is lost
form the surface of the leaves, a negative pressure, or tension, is created. The evaporated water is replaced by
water moving from inside the plant in unbroken columns that extend from the top of a plant to its roots. The same
forces that create surface tension in any sample of water are responsible for the maintenance of these unbroken
columns of water. When water is confined in tubes of very small bore, the forces of cohesion (the attraction
between water molecules) are so great that the strength of a column of water compares with the strength of a steel
wire of the same diameter. This cohesive strength permits columns of water to be pulled to great heights without
being broken.
56. How many theories does the author mention?
A. One
B. Two
C. Three
D. Four
57. The passage answers which of the following questions?
A. What is the effect of atmospheric pressure on foliage?
B. When do dead cells harm plant growth?
C. How does water get to the tops growth?
D. Why is root pressure weak?
58. How do botanists know that root pressure is not the only force that moves water in plants?
A. Some very tall trees have weak root pressure.
B. Root pressures decrease in winter.
C. Plants can live after their roots die.
D. Water in a plant's roots is not connected to water in its stem.
59. What causes the tension that draws water up a plant?
A. Humidity
B. Plant growth
C. Root pressure
D. Evaporation
60. According to the passage, why does water travel through plants in unbroken columns?
A. Root pressure moves the water very rapidly.
B. The attraction between water molecules is strong.
C. The living cell of plants push the water molecules together
D. Atmospheric pressure supports the columns.
Text 3
In the early days of the United States, postal charges were paid by the recipient and Charges varied with the
distance carried. In 1825, the United States Congress permitted local postmasters to give letters to mail carriers for
home delivery, but these carriers received no government salary and their entire compensation depended on what
they were paid by the recipients of individual letters.
In 1847 the United States Post Office Department adopted the idea of a postage stamp, which of course
simplified the payment for postal service but caused grumbling by those who did not like to prepay. Besides, the
stamp covered only delivery to the post office and did not include carrying it to a private address. In Philadelphia,
for example, with a population of 150, 000, people still had to go to the post office go get their mail. The
confusion and congestion of individual citizens looking for their letters was itself enough to discourage use of the
mail. It is no wonder that, during the years of these cumbersome arrangements, private letter-carrying and express
businesses developed. Although their activities were only semilegal, they thrived, and actually advertised that
between Boston and Philadelphia they were a half-day speedier than the government mail. The government postal
service lost volume to private competition and was not able to handle efficiently even the business it had.
Finally, in 1863, Congress provided that the mail carriers who delivered the mail from the post offices to
private addresses should receive a government salary, and that there should be no extra charge for that delivery.
But this delivery service was at first confined to cities, and free home delivery became a mark of urbanism. As late
as 1887, a town had to have 10,000 people to be eligible for free home delivery. In 1890, of the 75 million people
in the United States, fewer than 20 million had mail delivered free to their doors. The rest, nearly threequar-ters of
the population, still received no mail unless they went to their post office.
61. What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. The increased use of private mail services.
B. The development of a government postal system.
C. A comparison of urban and rural postal services.
D. The history of postage stamps.
62. Which of the following was seen as a disadvantage of the postage stamp?
A. It had to be purchased by the sender in advance.
B. It increased the cost of mail delivery.
C. It was difficult to affix to letters.
D. It was easy to counterfeit.
63. The word "they" in the second paragraph refer to ______ .
A. Boston and Philadelphia
B. businesses
C. arrangements
D. letters
64. The private postal services of the nineteenth century claimed that they could do which of the following
better than the government?
A. Deliver a higher volume of mail. B. Deliver mail more cheaply.
C. Deliver mail faster.
D. Deliver mail to rural areas.
65. In 1863 the United States government began providing which of the following to mail carriers?
A. A salary.
B. Housing.
C. Transportation. D. Free postage stamps.
Part B
In the following article some paragraphs have been removed. For Questions 66～70, choose the most
suitable paragraph from the list A～F to fit into each of the numbered gaps. There is one paragraph which does not
fit in any of the gaps. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.
No matter what your situation is, one of the greatest dangers now is that you'll stop doing what you're already
doing right.
66. ______.
The first fundamental is maintaining a clear-eyed view of reality, no matter how unpleasantly it may differ
from what you expected. It's amazing how many executives are driven by management fads and slogans, big hairy
audacious goals (BHAGs), quantum leaps, inspirational leadership-and then refuse to deviate from course even
when the environment changes dramatically.
67. ______.
As the economy slows, you need to wipe your whiteboard clean and rethink your strategy based on what's
realistically achievable.
We know of a major chemical company that in the recent era of super growth declared a goal of growing ten
times bigger in ten years. It's a wonderful aspiration, but it shouldn't be the company's focus now.
68. ______.
The second fundamental-like the others, it must be non-is to focus on the quality of your people. We hope it's
no longer necessary to argue that this is increasingly your company's only source of competitive advantage. Yet
when times get tough, many companies ease up on recruiting, figuring a slow economy will drive more applicants
their way, and they spend less on training as a way to raise profits quickly without doing immediate damage to the
business.
That's just dumb, people do become obsolete; they also grow. To put "it in old economy terms, can you
imagine postponing maintenance on an aircraft for six months? You wouldn't consider it, yet you may be tempted
to do something even worse. Successful companies avoid this mistake.
69. ______.
The third fundamental is continual, day by day insistence on improving productivity. In a slowdown,
productivity typically tanks, leading some people to conclude that it is an unavoidable fact of Fife. It isn't, and
improving productivity during a downturn puts a company in a stronger competitive position when things turn up.
70. ______.
Maintaining a commitment to reality, a focus on people, and rising productivity-assuming you can keep those
three plate spinning, you'll want to make several other moves quickly. (No one said this was easy. ) Speed is the
key. Most companies will make most of these eventually, when they're forced to. Your challenge is to make them
first.
A. Indeed, researchers have found that when the pressure is on, people exhibit a dismaying tendency to focus
on insignificant problems while their perceptions become distorted and they insist on proving that their mistaken
view of the situation is actually correct.
B. Colgate Palmolive has a remarkable record of improving productivity, as reflected in gross margin,
virtually every year for the past 15 years, even during the last recession. In the brutally competitive slow growing
business of household products, Colgate's stock has risen an average of 28% annually over the past five years.
C. This company, like most, should be asking how it's going to be No. l in a new environment. The winning
strategies and tactics will not be the same as those for growing tenfold in ten years. All managers will have to be
prepared for more frequent shifts in ten years. All managers will have to be prepared for more frequent shifts in
priorities, not just at their own companies but also with customers and supply chain partners.
D. Based on our long experience-as a consultant working with some of America's most important companies
and as a journalist investigating them-we're confident that as the economy slows, you'll be tempted to forget three
of the most important fundamentals for keeping any business successful. This is the time when it's most crucial
not to forget them.
E. We need to acknowledge when we haven't done things as well as we would like or when we do something
wrong, but getting things wrong does not make us useless people. That does not mean we should not face up to
our deficiencies, but facing up means moving forward, not allowing in the past.
F. The most valuable airline in the world, Southwest, is one of America's most desirable employers and in
1999 received 170,000 applications for just 6,000 positions. Yet the company recruits vigorously and never lets up,
nor does it get stingy on training. The story is similar at Trilogy, General Electric, McKinley-getting the best
people and malting them better is in the DNA of the most successful companies.
Part C
Answer Questions 71～80 by referring to the comments on 4 different powers in the following magazine
article.
Note: Answer each question by choosing A, B, C or D and mark it on ANSWER SHEET 1.
Some choices may be required more than once.
A=Hydro power
B=Nuclear power C=Coal-fired power D=Solar power
Which power…
* results in "Acid rain"?
71. ______
* is already the 2nd largest source of electricity in the U. S. ?
72. ______
* may give off more radioative pollution into the air than a nuclear plant?
73. ______
* can be taken only when large enough collector plates are built?
74. ______
* is the cleanest practical source of electricity?
75. ______
* costs 30% less than coal-fired power in France?
76. ______
* is less easy to subject to shortages caused by strikes and natural disasters?
77. ______
* is less threatened by international crises?
78. ______
* will not be considered as a supplement to conventional electricity for several decades?
79.
______
* could contribute to global warming?
80. ______
Our demand for electricity is climbing so fast that over the next decade U. S. generating capacity must
increase by a third. Fossil fuels supply nearly three-quarters of this energy. But the smoke-belching stacks of
coal-fired, gas-fired and oil-fired plants are also responsible for about half of our air pollution.
That, we used to think, is a small price to pay for progress. But there is an alternative, one that produces no
smoke and can actually create more fuel than it consumes. In many regions it is even cheaper than coal-fired
electricity: nuclear power.
Already nuclear power is the second largest source of our electricity, and a new family of "failsafe" nuclear
reactors-some now under construction in Japan-may one day make nuclear power even cheaper and more
plentiful.
The only major difference between nuclear and conventional plants is that nuclear fuel is far more
radioactive. For this reason, the core must be sealed from the outside environment-and so must the spent fuel,
which remains radioactive for years.
If other types of power didn't present equal or worse problems, it would make no sense to consider nuclear
power at ail. But they do:
Coal is much dirtier than it used to be. The U. S. reserves of clean-burning anthracite are virtually exhausted.
Today, power plants must use soft coal, often contaminated with sulfur. When the smoke from this coal is
dissolved by precipitation, it results in "acid rain".
Burning coal produces carbon dioxide as well, which can act as a blanket, trapping solar heat in our
atmosphere. Eventually, this could contribute to global warming, the greenhouse effect, though there is no
conclusive evidence that this has begun.
Coal also contains a surprising amount of radioactive material. Indeed, a coal-fired electric plant spews more
radioactive pollution into the air than a nuclear plant.
Oil and natural gas are too scarce to meet our electrical needs now, let alone in the next century. We already
import over 40 per-cent of our oil from abroad, and that will likely increase.
Solar power seems to be a wonderful idea: Every square yard of sunshine contains about 1 000 watts of
inexhaustible energy, free for the taking. The trouble is, the taking isn't free. To meet our electrical needs, we'd
have to build enough collector plates to cover the state of Delaware. No serious student of solar power expects it
to be anything but a supplement to conventional electricity for decades.
Wind power generated a lot of excitement in the early 1980s, when magazines featured photographs of a
"wind farm" at Altamont Pass, California, with hundreds of windmills. Everyone seemed to forget that taxpayers'
money helped buy the farm. Today, the giant blades spin productively only half a year, because winds frequently
aren't strong enough to cover costs.
Hydro power is the cleanest practical source of electricity. But in the United States, most rivers that can be
profitably dammed already are.
Other, more exotic energy schemes would harness ocean tides and waves, nuclear fusion (the process that
powers the sun) or heat from the earth's crust or the sea. But even proponents admit that none of these will become
a major source of energy soon.
Now Let's look at the advantages of nuclear power.
1. It's clean. Radioactive emissions are negligible, much less than the radioactivity released into the air
naturally from the earth or produced by cosmic rays. Standing next to a nuclear plant, I am exposed to only
one-half of one percent more radiation than when sitting in my living room. A coal station, on the other hand,
requires huge dumps of fuel and ashes that menace the environment.
Despite a widespread misconception, nuclear waste is not a technical problem. The 108 nuclear plants in the
United States generate less than 4 000 tons of fuel waste each year. In fact, all 33 years' worth of the nation's spent
nuclear fuel would only fill a football field to a depth of five. feet. Non-nuclear hazardous waste, by contrast,
totals 275 million tons annually. And nuclear waste is easy to monitor and control. The spent fuel can be kept on
the premises for years until it decays to a radiation level suitable for trucking to long-term storage sites.
2. It's inexhaustible. The U. S. uranium reserves will last many decades, and our long-term supply is
guaranted. Through a process called "breeding", a reactor can convert uranium into plutonium-an even better fuel.
Breeder reactors, now in use in France, could thus extend the reserves for millions of years.
3. It's secure. Because it needs so little fuel, a nuclear plant is less vulnerable to shortages produced by strikes
or by natural calamities. And since uranium is more evenly scattered about the globe than fossil fuels, nuclear
power is less threatened by cartels and international crises.
4. It's cheap. In France, where nuclear power supplies 70 per-cent of the electricity, nuclear power costs 30
percent less than coal-fired power. This enables France to export electricity to its neighbors. In Canada, where
nuclear power supplies 15 percent of the electricity, Ontario Hydro has proposed building ten more nuclear
reactors over the next 25 years.
Section Ⅳ
Writing
Directions
The number of young people who live together before marriage has increased in recent years. The advocates
Say it is a good living style. But other people take a negative attitude. What's your opinion? Explain why.
Key to Model Test Eight
录音材料
Part A
Questions 1～10
Having been a student and teacher in China (at Peking and Tsinghua Universities, respectively), I know quite
a few Chinese students. Indeed, nearly all of them have gone to the United States to pursue their studies. Like the
larger body of Chinese students in the United States totaling well over 40,000-my friends live across the vast
expanse of the American continent, on both coasts and in the states in between. They have chosen fields of study
ranging from environmental engineering and public policy to history and Asian studies. Yet despite the great
diversity among these students in terms of their ages, backgrounds, locations, and majors, shared experiences
remain. None are more pronounced than the inability of most Chinese students to effectively immerse themselves
in American society.
It seems to me that the majority of Chinese students in the United States have never made the effort to reach
out and embrace American life on its own terms. Instead, most share apartments with one or more fellow Chinese
students, speaking Chinese and eating Chinese food on a daily basis. In some respects, it is as if these students had
never left China. Interactions with Americans tend to be limited to relatively formal, academic settings, such as
the classroom or a professor's office. Moreover, few Chinese students participate in campus wide extracurricular
activities, such as athletic matches and dances, which would put them into contact with a diverse array of
American young people. Rather, most limit themselves to taking part in programs arranged by the Chinese
Students Association and, naturally, these events are generally linked to uniquely Chinese occasions such as the
Spring Festival and National Day. As a result, even Chinese students who have spent years in the United States
often find difficult to engage American friends in sophisticated conversations about such subjects as American
politics, race relations, and popular music. In short, they lack a "feel" for the country.
Chinese students widely acknowledge this phenomenon even as they maintain differing views as to its cause.
Some contend that Chinese have difficulty bridging the cultural divide on account of such practical considerations
as money. Because Chinese students come from a developing country and often have to rely on limited
scholarship funds for support, they argue, Chinese students simply do not have the financial means to more fully
participate in the extracurricular and social activities which would afford them more substantive contact with
American (and other foreign) students. The truth is, however, that most American students are just as poor; it is a
common fact of American student life. And in any event, most campus based social events are priced to meet
student needs.
Others believe that the reason Chinese find acculturation difficult is somewhat more complex. Fundamentally,
few Chinese see the chance to study in the United States for what it is: a once in lifetime opportunity to get to
know another country from the inside. Chinese students typically focus so single-mindedly on their studies that
they lose sight of the larger picture, that is, their ultimate role as cultural interpreters between their homeland and
the United States. To be sure, a Chinese student's service as an engineer or biologist is integral to China's
continued economic construction; but his or her ability to bridge the divide-or often, the perceived divide-between
two distinct cultures is perhaps even more important over the long run.
To date, only a small fraction of the Chinese students who have studied in the United States have returned to
China, a proof of both the academic and professional success of Chinese students in the United States and the
openness of the society in which they found this success. The contributions Chinese students have made to
American life are truly striking. Still, I believe that the next generation of Chinese students in the United
States-those who will begin the 21st century there-will recognize their crucial function in the process of furthering
U. S. -China understanding. They will return to China in unprecedented numbers to contribute to their country's
development in unprecedented ways. I only hope that before these students find their way back to China, they find
their way into the heart of America.
Part B
Questions 11～13
The most striking single fact about chimpanzees is the flexibility of their social life, the lack of any rigid
form of organization. It represents about as far a departure from the baboon type of organization as one can find
among the higher primates, and serves to emphasize the great variety of primate adaptations. Chimpanzees are
more human than baboons, or rather they jibe better with the way we like to picture ourselves, as freewheeling
individuals who tend to be unpredictable, do not take readily to any form of regimentation, and are frequently
charming. (Charm is relatively rare among baboons.)
Two researchers have described what they found during more than eight months spent among chimpanzees in
their natural habitat, tide forest:" We were quite surprised to observe that there is no single distinct social unit in
chimpanzee society. Not only is there no 'family' or 'harem' organization; neither is there a 'troop' organization-that
is to say, no particular chimpanzees keep permanently together. On the contrary, individuals move about at will,
alone or in Small groups best described as bands, which sometimes form into large aggregations. They leave their
associates if they want to, and join up with new ones without conflict. "
The general practice is best described as "easy come, easy go", although there are certain group-forming
tendencies. As a rule chimpanzees move about in one of four types of band: adult makes only; mothers and
offspring and occasionally a few other females; adults and adolescents of both sexes, but no mothers with young;
and representatives of all categories mixed together. The composition of bands may change a number of times
during the course of a day as individuals wander off and groups split or combine with other groups. On the other
hand, certain individuals prefer one another's company. One of the researchers observed that four makes often
roamed together over a four-month period, and mother often associated with their older offspring.
Questions 14～16
The promise of finding long-term technological solutions to the problem of world food shortages seems
difficult to fulfill. Many innovations that were once heavily supported and publicized have since fallen by the
wayside. The proposals themselves were technically feasible, but they proved to be economically unviable and to
yield food products culturally unacceptable to their consumers.
One characteristic common to unsuccessful food innovations has been that, even with extensive government
support, they often have not been technologically adapted or culturally acceptable to the people for whom they
had been developed. A successful new technology; therefore, must fit the entire social cultural system in which it
is to find a place. Security of crop yield, particularly of storage, and costs are much more significant than had
previously been realized by the advocates of new technologies.
The adoption of new food technologies depends on more than these technical and cultural considerations;
economic factors and governmental policies also strongly influence the ultimate success of any innovation.
Economists in the Anglo-American tradition have taken the lead in investigating the economics of technological
innovation. Although they exaggerate in claiming that profitability is the key factor guiding technical change-they
completely disregard the substantial effects of culture-they are correct in stressing the importance of profits. Most
technological innovations in agriculture can be fully used only by large landowners and are only adopted if these
profit-oriented business people believe that the innovation will increase their incomes. Thus, innovations that
carry high rewards for big agribusiness groups will be adopted even if they harm segments of the population and
reduce the availability of food in a country. Further, should a new technology promise to alter substantially the
profits and losses associated with any production system, those with economic power will strive to maintain and
improve their own positions. Therefore, although technical advances in food production and processing will
perhaps be needed to ensure food availability, meeting food will depends much more on equalizing economic
power among the various segments of the populations within the developing countries themselves.
Questions 17～20
The point of departure for an understanding of the position of the working-class father in his home is that he
is "the master in his own house". This he is by long-recognized custom, and neither he nor his wife would want
the custom changed. She will often refer to him before others as "Mr. W" or "the master". This does not mean that
he is an absolute ruler or that he gets or expects his own way in everything. Being the master often goes with a
carefulness, a willingness to help and be considerate, to be "a good husband". In the lazy or insensitive, it may go
with a marked selfishness or near-cruelty. In either case, there is likely to be an obedience to him as the main
breadwinner and heavy worker, as, even today, he remains the chief connection with the outer world which brings
the money into the house. There is often a kind of roughness in his manner which a middle-class wife would find
unbearable. A wife will say how worried she is because something is wrong, and because "the master will be mad"
when he gets home; she knows he may shout at her harshly or in a few cases may even beat her, especially if he
has had a couple of drinks on the way from work. If middle-aged wives say to a younger one, "He's good to you,
isn't he?" they mean that he is not likely to become violent in word or act, or that he does not leave her alone
almost every night, or that he will help her out if she gets into difficulties with the house-keeping allowance. The
roughness he shows is in part a heavy laboring-man's usual manner in personal relations and expression, and
clearly does not necessarily mean a lack of fondness on his part, or a helplessness on the wife's part.
A husband is consequently not really expected to help about the house. If he does, his wife is pleased; but she
is unlikely to hold it against him if he does not. A woman would not want him to do too much of that kind of thing
for fear he is thought womanish. If he should help in the house, the highest praise he can earn is: "He's good about
the house, just like a woman". In helping, he is doing work in place of the woman whose job it should be; the
household jobs are not joint responsibilities.
Part C
I like to look into the mirror. I remember when I was a little girl, I often stood on my toes, trying to find my
face in the mirror of the dressing table which was nearly as high as I was. Now I still like to look into the mirror.
Only now, the dressing table is too low for me. As I bend down, I see the face of a young woman, glowing with
maturity, confident in her future and fascinated with her own reflection.
The fact that I like to look into the mirror has to do with my granny with whom I spent most of my childhood.
I remember clearly that one night I heard her murmuring, "Women can't be seen. Women can't be seen. "I was so
confused as to look into the mirror the next morning to check if I could indeed see myself. Only now as a young
woman myself, can I understand that it was not physical visibility that granny had on her mind.
Granny spent all her life taking care of the family, day in and day out. She cooked for her husband and 10
children. But whenever guests came, she and other female family members had to eat by the stove in the small
kitchen. At family discussions, she was never asked for her opinion. After grandpa passed away, she had to listen
to my uncle, her eldest son, who became master of the house. Through years of toil, she fulfilled her duty as
daughter, wife, and mother; yet as a person, she remained little noticed. Even though she could see herself in the
mirror of the dressing table, she was never visible in the mirror of society.
I have been living a different life. At home, I make descisions together with the rest of the family. In school, I
often take charge of various activities the same as other boys and girls. Not only that, I can see something granny
could not have dreamed of-making decisions for my own future. My life had been a series of decisions. I could
choose from several universities as I came out of high school. At university, I could choose from a range of
subjects from English literature to business law. And now upon graduation, I am again faced with decisions-to
further my study or to go to work; to stay in China or to go abroad; to get married right away or to remain single
for a bit longer.
It does not matter whether or not I will become famous or rich, but I will treasure the chance to demonstrate
my potential and to help other women demonstrate theirs ass full member of society, fully visible in the mirror of
history. I will treasure it because the abundance of choice that I enjoy came only after decades of efforts made by
my granny, my mum, and millions of other Chinese women.
However, the choices to be made by me and others of my generation are a great challenge. The
misconception that men are superior to women is still dominating many people's minds. While men are
encouraged to compete and to assert themselves, we are expected to be quiet, loyal and obedient. This is not very
different from what is expected of us as good wives and good mothers. The challenge we face calls for a higher
level of our personal development and self determination.
The story of my grandmother and myself mirrors the lives of millions of other women in China and perhaps
in the world. Many of them still lead the life of my grandmother. Their worth is not yet recognized. It is the
responsibility of a young person like me to work hard and struggle hard so that they too will see themselves and
will be seen in the mirror of society.
This is my dream. This dream, I believe, is not only shared by our grandmothers, mothers and sisters, but
also by our fathers, brothers, husbands and male colleagues.
It will not come true until everyone fully realizes that women can contribute to society and should be
guaranteed the right to do so. Women hold up half the sky.
[参考答案]
1. F 2. F 3. T 4. F 5. T 6. T 7. F 8. F 9. F 10. T
11.A 12. A 13. A 14. C 15. B 16. C 17. C 18. B 19. B 20. C
21. mature, confident, fascinated
26. making her decisions
22. her granny
27. men's superiority
23. physical visibility
28. quiet, loyal, obedient
24. daughter, wife, mother
29. people like speaker
25. mirror of society
30. women's social role
31. girls
35. Females
39. how
43. Two
47. for
32. In
36. differences
40. old
44. like
48. brain
33. are
37. by
41. baby
45. known
49. remember
34. average
38, says
42. it
46. at
50. skills
51. C 52. A 53. A 54. D 55. C 56. C 57. C 58. A 59. D 60. B
61. B 62. A 63. B 64. C 65. A 66. D 67. A 68. C 69. F 70. B
71. C 72. B 73. C 74. D
[参考范文]
75. A 76. B 77. B 78. B 79. D 80. C
A Question of Living Together Style
Living together before marriage is now attaining a certain vogue, and becomes a national trend among young
people. According to an official census, between 1980 and 1992, there was an eight fold increase in the living
together style. Some people say it is a good way to test love before being formally married, other people suggest
that it is a solution to the high divorce rate which has plagued Chinese families in recent years. They claim that by
not making their relationship permanent they can avoid many problems brought about by divorce. In short they all
believe, to eliminate the legal commitment of marriage is to eliminate the "bad" part of marriage. But I cannot
share this point of view for several reasons. For one thing, it must be recognized that a strong negative attitude
towards the living together style runs consistently through the mainstream of Chinese thinking which, traditionally
and morally, has placed a very high premium on marriage. Whatever life-style a single male or female chooses is a
matter of individual's freedom. But since they live in China, the particular society, they have to take the social
attitude into consideration. What they view as a marvelous, free life-style, the public may see as an abnormality
even immorality. Of course they can turn a deaf ear to what others say behind them, but they cannot escape the
pressure from their families and society, the pressure they will experience anywhere and anytime. The day they
enter into it, they may live in the shadow of the social censure which is a psychological burden they have to carry
through their lives.
For example, a postgraduate failed to get the job he applied for, simply because the company, finding the girl
he was living with was not his wife, felt that his life-style smacked of indecisiveness, instability and failure on his
part to accept responsibility. Who is to say whether or not the company made the fair decision? But what he may
view as a sophisticated way to live, the company has the right to see as a career impediment.
When it comes to individuals, furthermore, the living together style can actually spoil a good relationship
between two people who intend to marry eventually. Because it is entered into out of weakness rather than
strength, doubt rather than conviction, drift rather than decision, it offers unnecessary obstacles. If marriage is
what you want, why commit yourself to a shaky arrangement that keeps you out of the mainstream of life?
You may argue what you want is love not marriage. Then what is love? You cannot hope to find love by
experimenting biologically, Neither can you build love by creating a living situation designed to test it. Love is.
And when you love you must commit to it-for better or worse. Living together is not an act of love but a means of
running from responsibility.