1、 第1页 共12页 电子科技大学 2014年攻读硕士学位研究生入学考试试题 考试科目：621 英语水平测试 注:无机读卡， 所有答案必须写在答题纸上，写在试卷或草稿纸上无效. Part I Reading Comprehension (40 points). Directions: In this part there are 5 passages, each with some questions or incomplete statements. Read them carefully and then choose from the four suggested answers mark
2、ed A. B. C. and D to answer the questions or complete the statements. Please write your answers on the Answer Sheet. Passage 1 First, the university will take on an even larger role in assisting pre-college education in preparing students for study and work. Success on college is greatly impacted by
3、 student preparation. Thus, the university will need to take more responsibility in guiding the process in college preparation. Partnerships with corporations and businesses will become a greater part of university involvement. The 21st century will see expansion of partnerships of this type particu
4、larly with research universities. These will take on different forms. They will involve collaboration for education of an older workforce, collaboration for organizational and process improvement in both types of organizations, agreements for special consideration in student recruitment and internsh
5、ips, and employment and funding between the partners. Each will need to undergo some modification of culture as these changes occur. The convener role involves bringing people to campus to address certain important issues. It means identifying experts around the world to join with those on campus to
6、 seek understanding and actions for change. This conference sponsored by Peking University is an example of the convener function. It also involves bringing people together to learn about modern approaches to the latest and important issues in many different fields. This role has been served for man
7、y years in agriculture, education and engineering. Others are emerging, and the future will have universities serving even broader roles as convener of experts in many different areas. The world role for universities is another that is evolving rapidly. It is being driven by increasing ease of commu
8、nication worldwide, the connectivity of economies of countries around the world, the opening up of greater opportunities for trade, and the increasing prevalence of multinational corporations. 第2页 共12页 1. In what way will the university play a larger role in the future? A. Helping students find jobs
9、. B. Helping students prepare for study and work. C. Arranging the process of college preparation. D. Ensuring every student achieves success in study. 2. Which of the following is NOT true of the research universities in the 21st century? A. They will offer education to an older workforce. B. They
10、will make organization and process improvement. C. They will modify the culture they are in. D. They will collaborate with corporations and business in students employment and funding. 3. The passage is organized by _. A. making a list of the roles played by the university in the 21st century B. com
11、paring and contrasting several roles played by the university C. introducing a phenomenon first and then analyzing its reasons D. preparing a problem first and then its solutions Passage 2 Each year in the never-ending cycle of death and regeneration, the rains sweep across southern Asia. Between Ju
12、ne and October strange sea winds surge over the land, drenching the earth with torrential downpours. This is the monsoona familiar word often taken to mean a violent windstorm, but in fact referring to a tumultuous season of recurring rains. The monsoon is close to the very soul of the people it tou
13、ches; it permeates the lives of the people and affects everything they do. India is especially dominated by it. For three months before the monsoon rains arrive, the heat is intense, unbearable: the earth itself is dead; farmers cannot work the stone-hard fields; bare subsistence is difficult. With
14、the rains, everything suddenly changesIndia bursts into life again; fields that seemed hopelessly barren turn green and grow wildly. The rich new season is one of beauty, but to the peasant it is a beauty shot through with possible disaster. Overflowing with the great rains, the Ganges River moves r
15、elentlessly to the sea, hiding beneath its shining but deceptive calm the horror of fields and homes overcome by flood. The horror of flood and cyclone rides always with the monsoon clouds when they come to redeem the land. The peasants have no resource but resignation. 4. The monsoon is correctly d
16、escribed as a _. A. torrential downpour B. violent windstorm C. season of recurring rains D. violent thunderstorm 5. The monsoon is said to be “close to the very soul of the people it touches” because _. A. it plays a significant role in Asian religions B. it is destructive C. the people are resigne
17、d to it D. it affects all aspects of their lives 第3页 共12页 6. The peasants reaction to the monsoon is _. A. resignation B. hope that the next year will be better C. Joy D. relief 7. Which of the following is implied but not stated? A. India is the only country affected by the monsoon. B. Monsoons sel
18、dom affect people in temperate climates. C. After the floods subside, the great heat will begin again. D. The monsoon completely permeates the lives of people. Passage 3 A recent history of the Chicago meat-packing industry and its workers examines how the industry grew from its appearance in the 18
19、30s through the early 1890s. Meat- packers, the author argues, had good wages, working conditions, and prospects for advancement within the packing-houses, and did not cooperate with labor agitators since labor relations were so harmonious. Because the history maintains that conditions were above st
20、andard for the era, the frequency of labor disputes, especially in the mid. 1880s, is not accounted for. The work ignores the fact that the 1880s were crucial years in American labor history, and that the packing-house workers efforts were part of the national movement for labor reform. In fact, oth
21、er historical sources for the late-nineteenth century record deteriorating housing and high disease and infant mortality rates in the industrial community, due to low wages and unhealthy working conditions. Additional data from the University of Chicago suggest that the packing-houses were dangerous
22、 places to work. The government investigation commissioned by President Theodore Roosevelt which eventually led to the adoption of the 1906 Meat Inspection Act found the packing-houses unsanitary, while social workers observed that most of the workers were poorly paid and overworked. The history may
23、 be too optimistic because most of its data from the 1880s, at the latest, and the information provided from that decade, is insufficiently analyzed. Conditions actually declined in the 1880s and continued to decline after the 1880s, due to a reorganization of the packing process and a massive influ
24、x of unskilled workers. The deterioration in worker status, partly a result of the new availability of unskilled and hence cheap labor, is not discussed. Though a detailed account of work in the packing-houses is attempted, the author fails to distinguish between the wages and conditions for skilled
25、 workers and for those unskilled laborers who comprised the majority of the industrys workers from the 1880s on While conditions for the former were arguably tolerable due to the strategic importance of skilled workers in the complicated slaughtering, cutting, and packing process (though worker comp
26、laints about the rate and conditions of work were frequent), pay and conditions for the latter were wretched. The authors misinterpretation of the origins of the feelings the meat-packers had for their industrial neighborhood may account for the historys faulty generalizations. The pride and content
27、ment the author remarks upon were, arguably, less the products of the industrial world of the packersthe giant yards and the intricate plantsthan of the unity and 第4页 共12页 vibrancy(活跃) of the ethnic cultures that formed a viable community on Chicagos South Side. Indeed, the strength of this communit
28、y succeeded in generating a social movement that effectively confronted the problems of the industry that provided its livelihood 8. The passage is primarily concerned with discussing _. A. how historians ought to explain the origins of the conditions in the Chicago meat- packing industry B. why it
29、is difficult to determine the actual nature of the conditions in the Chicago meat-packing industry C. why a particular account of the conditions in the Chicago meat-packing industry is inaccurate D. what ought to be included in any account of the Chicago meat-packers role in the national labor movem
30、ent 9. The author of the passage mentions the “social movement” (in the last paragraph) generated by Chicagos South Side community primarily in order to _. A. inform the reader of events that occurred in the meat-packing industry after the period of time covered by the history B. introduce a new iss
31、ue designed to elaborate on the good relationship between the meat-packers and Chicagos ethnic communities C. salvage the historys point of view by suggesting that there were positive developments in the meat-packing industry due to worker unity D. suggest the historys limitations by pointing out a
32、situation that the history failed to explain adequately 10. According to the passage, the working conditions of skilled workers in the meat-packing industry during the 1880s were influenced by _. A. the workers determined complaints about the rate and conditions of their work B. the workers ability
33、to perform the industrys complex tasks C. the efforts of social workers to improve sanitation in the packing-houses D. improvements in the industrys packing process that occurred in the 1880s 11. The author of the passage uses the second paragraph to _. A. summarize the main point of the history dis
34、cussed in the passage B. explain why the history discussed in the passage has been disparaged by critics C. evaluate the findings of recent studies that undermine the premises of the history discussed in the passage D. present evidence that is intended to refute the argument of the history discussed
35、 in the passage Passage 4 I live in the land of Disney, Hollywood and year-round sun. You may think people in such a glamorous, fun-filled place are happier than others. If so, you have some mistaken ideas about the 第5页 共12页 nature of happiness. Many intelligent people still equate happiness with fu
36、n. The truth is that fun and happiness have little or nothing in common. Fun is what we experience during an act. Happiness is what we experience after an act. It is a deeper, more abiding emotion. Going to an amusement park or ball game, watching a movie or television, are fun activities that help
37、us relax, temporarily forget our problems and maybe even laugh. But they do not bring happiness, because their positive effects end when the fun ends. I have often thought that if Hollywood stars have a role to play, it is to teach us that happiness has nothing to do with fun. These rich, beautiful
38、individuals have constant access to glamorous parties, fancy cars, expensive homes, everything that spells “happiness”. But in memoir after memoir, celebrities reveal the unhappiness hidden beneath all their fun: depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, broken marriages, troubled children and profoun
39、d loneliness. Ask a bachelor why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If hes honest, he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure and excitement. Marriage h
40、as such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features. Similarly, couples that choose not to have children are deciding in favor of painless fun over painful happiness. They can dine out whenever they want and sleep as late as they want. Couples with infant children are lucky to get a w
41、hole nights sleep or a three-day vacation. I dont know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children. Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations we can ever come to. It liberates time: now we can devot
42、e more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those rich and glamorous people we were s
43、o sure are happy because they are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all. 12. Which of the following is true? A. Fun creates long-lasting satisfaction. B. Fun provides enjoyment while pain leads to happiness. C. Happiness is enduring whereas fun is short-lived. D. Fun that is lon
44、g-standing may lead to happiness. 13. To the author, Hollywood stars all have an important role to play that is to _. A. tell the public that happiness has nothing to do with fun B. write memoir after memoir about their happiness C. teach people how to enjoy their lives D. bring happiness to the pub
45、lic instead of going to glamorous parties 14. Couples having infant children _. A. are lucky since they can have a whole nights sleep B. find fun in tucking them into bed at night 第6页 共12页 C. find more time to play and joke with them D. derive happiness from their endeavor 15. If one gets the meanin
46、g of the true sense of happiness, he will _. A. stop playing games and joking with others B. make the best use of his time increasing happiness C. give a free hand to money D. keep himself with his family Passage 5 Working out exactly what students and taxpayers get for the money they spend on unive
47、rsities is a tricky business. Now the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a Paris-based think-tank for rich countries, is planning to make the task a bit easier, by producing the first international comparison of how successfully universities teach. “Rather than assuming t
48、hat because a university spends more it must be better, or using other proxy measures for quality, we will look at learning outcomes,” explains Andreas Schleicher, the OECDs head of education research. Just as the OECD assesses primary and secondary education by testing randomly chosen groups of you
49、ngsters from each country in reading and mathematics, it will sample university students to see what they have learned. Once enough universities are taking part, it may publish league tables showing where each country stands, just as it now does for compulsory education. That may produce a fairer assessment than the two established rankings, though the British one does try to broaden its inquiry by taking opinions from academics and employers. There is much to be said f
