1、2004年 3月国家公共英语（三级）真题试卷及答案与解析 一、 Section II Use of English (15 minutes) Directions: Read the following text. Choose the best word or phrase for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1. 0 After 20 years of marriage, a husband may still not understand his wife. How is it that she is
2、 never at a【 C1】 _for words? How can she【 C2】 _the names of a couple they met on【 C3】 _years ago? Now we know【 C4】 _to tell him: its her brain. Although there are obviously cultural【 C5】 _for the differences in emotions and behavior,【 C6】 _breakthrough research reveals that the【 C7】 _of many puzzlin
3、g differences between men and women may【 C8】 _in the head. Mens and womens brains【 C9】 _much in common, but they are definitely not the same【 C10】 _size, structure or insight. Broadly speaking, a womans brain, like her body, is ten to fifteen per cent smaller than a mans,【 C11】 _the regions dedicate
4、d to language may be more densely【 C12】 _with brain ceils. Girls generally speak earlier and read faster. The reason may be【 C13】_females use both sides of the brain when they read. In【 C14】 _, males rely only on the left side. At every age, womens memories【 C15】 _mens. They have a greater ability t
5、o【 C16】 _ names with faces than men do, and they are【 C17】 _at recalling list. The events people re- member best are those that an emotion is attached to.【 C18】_women use more of their right brains, which【 C19】 _emotions, they may do this automatically. While we dont yet know what all these findings
6、 imply, one thing is【 C20】 _: male and female brains do the same things, but they do them differently. 1 【 C1】 （ A） slip （ B） puzzle （ C） loss （ D） failure 2 【 C2】 （ A） recall （ B） understand （ C） realize （ D） perceive 3 【 C3】 （ A） festival （ B） event （ C） occasion （ D） holiday 4 【 C4】 （ A） what （ B
7、） how （ C） when （ D） where 5 【 C5】 （ A） senses （ B） reasons （ C） purposes （ D） meanings 6 【 C6】 （ A） present （ B） instant （ C） recent （ D） immediate 7 【 C7】 （ A） bottom （ B） basis （ C） root （ D） stem 8 【 C8】 （ A） hide （ B） set （ C） fix （ D） lie 9 【 C9】 （ A） have （ B） share （ C） divide （ D） store 10
8、【 C10】 （ A） in （ B） at （ C） with （ D） for 11 【 C11】 （ A） yet （ B） hence （ C） thus （ D） then 12 【 C12】 （ A） wrapped （ B） rested （ C） gathered （ D） packed 13 【 C13】 （ A） which （ B） why （ C） that （ D） whether 14 【 C14】 （ A） fact （ B） contrast （ C） addition （ D） consequence 15 【 C15】 （ A） top （ B） match
9、 （ C） equal （ D） challenge 16 【 C16】 （ A） mix （ B） combine （ C） join （ D） associate 17 【 C17】 （ A） shier （ B） better （ C） keener （ D） easier 18 【 C18】 （ A） Since （ B） While （ C） Although （ D） Unless 19 【 C19】 （ A） process （ B） promote （ C） perceive （ D） produce 20 【 C20】 （ A） important （ B） mysterio
10、us （ C） special （ D） clear Part A Directions: Read the following three texts. Answer the questions on each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. 20 Burn rate is the speed at which a startup business consumes money. My rate would be $50,000 a month when my new media comp
11、any started. So, I began looking around for individuals who would be my first investors. “Angel money“ it was called. But when I reviewed my list of acquaintances to find those who might be able to help, I found the number got small. With no other choices, I began meeting with the venture-capital co
12、mpanies. But I was warned they took a huge share of your company for the money they put in. And if you struggled, they could drop you cold. As I was searching for “angel money“, I started to bulid a team who trusted me even though I didnt have money for paychecks yet. Bill Becket was an expert in co
13、mputer programming and image processing at a very famous Media Lab at M. I. T. With his arrival, my company suddenly had a major technology “guy“ in house. Katherine Henderson, a filmmaker and a former real-estate dealer, joined us as our director of market research. Steve White came on as operating
14、 officer. He had worked for the developer of a home-finance software, Quicken. We grabbed him. We had some really good people, but we still didnt have enough money. One night, my neighbor, Louise Johnson, came for a visit. She and I were only nodding acquaintances, but her boys and ours were constan
15、t companions. She ran a very good business at the time. Louise was brilliant and missed nothing. She had been watching my progress closely. She knew I was dying for money and I had prospects but could offer no guarantees of success. She told me that her attorney had talked to mine and the terms had
16、been agreed upon. She handed me an envelope. Inside was a check for $ 500,000. I almost fell down. I heard her voice as if from heaven. “I have confidence in your plan,“ she said. “Youll do well. Youre going to work hard for it, but its satisfying when you build your own company.“ Who would have tho
17、ught Id find an angel so close to home? There were no words sufficient for the moment. We just said good night. She left and I just stood there, completely humbled and completely committed. 21 For a newly-established business, burn rate refers to_. （ A） the salary it pays to its staff （ B） the inter
18、est it pays to the bank （ C） the way in which it raises capital （ D） the speed at which it spends money 22 By “Angel money“, the author refers to_. （ A） the money borrowed from banks （ B） the money spent to promote sales （ C） the money raised from close friends （ D） the money needed to start a busin
19、ess 23 To get help from a venture-capital company, you may have to_. （ A） put up with unfair terms （ B） change your business line （ C） enlarge your business scope （ D） let them operate your business 24 The author easily built a team for his company because_. （ A） they were underpaid at their previou
20、s jobs （ B） they were turned down by other companies （ C） they were confident of the author and his business （ D） they were satisfied with the salaries in his company 25 Louise decided to lend money to the author because_. （ A） she wanted to join his company （ B） she knew he would build a team （ C）
21、she knew his plan would succeed （ D） she wanted to help promote his sales 25 Nearly all “speed reading“ courses have a “pacing“ element-some timing device which lets the student know how many words a minutes he is reading. You can do this simply by looking at your watch every 5 or 10 minutes and not
22、ing down the page number you have reached. Check the average number of words per page for the particular book you are reading. How do you know when 5 minutes has passed on your watch if you are busy reading the book? Well, this is difficult at first. A friend can help by timing you over a set period
23、, or you can read within hearing distance of a public clock which strikes the quarter hours. Pace yourself every three or four days, always with the same kind of easy, general interest books. You should soon notice your accustomed w. p.m. rate creeping up. Obviously there is little point in increasi
24、ng your w. p.m. rate if you do not understand what you are reading. When you are consciously trying to increase your reading speed, stop after every chapter (if you are reading a novel) or every section or group of ten or twelve pages(if it is a text book) and ask yourself a few questions about what
25、 you have been reading. If you find you have lost the thread of the story, or you cannot remember clearly the details of what was said, reread the section or chapter. You can also try “lightning speed“ exercise from time to time. Take four or five pages of the general interest book you happen to be
26、reading and read them as fast as you possibly can. Do not bother about whether you understand or not. Now go back and read them at what you feel to be your “normal“ w. p. m. rate, the rate at which you can comfortably understand. After a lightning speed reading through (probably 600 w. p. m.) you wi
27、ll usually find that you “normal“ speed has increased perhaps by as much as 50 100 w. p. m. This is the technique sportsmen use when they usually run further in training than they will hive to on the day of the big race. 26 According to the passage, a “pacing“ device_. （ A） is used to time a student
28、s reading speed （ B） is not used in most speed reading courses （ C） is used as an aid to vocabulary learning （ D） should be used whenever we read alone 27 In speed reading, looking at your watch every 5 or 10 minutes_. （ A） avoids the need for reading faster （ B） is not the same as pacing （ C） may s
29、eem unworkable at first （ D） helps you to remember your page number 28 When you are reading a novel, you should check your understanding of the content after _. （ A） every chapter （ B） every section （ C） every four or five pages （ D） every ten or twelve pages 29 The purpose of the “lightning speed“
30、exercise is to_. （ A） increase your speed by scanning the text first （ B） test your maximum reading speed （ C） help you understand more of the content of the book （ D） enable you to win reading races against your friends 30 The best title for this passage would be_. （ A） Hints for Successful Reading
31、 （ B） Hints for Speed Reading （ C） Effective Reading （ D） Lightning Speed Exercises 30 There is one difference between the sexes on which virtually every expert and study agree: men are more aggressive than women. It shows up in 2-year-old. It continues through school days and persists into adulthoo
32、d. It is even constant across cultures. And there is little doubt that it is rooted in biology-in the male sex hormone testosterone. If theres a feminine trait thats the counterpart of male aggressiveness, its what social scientists awkwardly refer to as “nurturance“. Feminists have argued that the
33、nurturing nature of women is not biological in origin, but rather has been drummed into women by a society that wanted to keep them in the home. But the signs that it is at least partly inborn are too numberous to ignore. Just as tiny infant girls respond more readily to human faces, female toddlers
34、 learn much faster than males how to pick up nonverbal cues from others. And grown women are far more adapt than men at interpreting facial expressions: A recent study by University of Pennsylvania brain researcher Ruben Gur showed that they easily read emotions such as anger, sadness and fear. The
35、only such emotion men could pick up was disgust. What difference do such differences make in the real world? Among other things, women appear to be somewhat less competitive or at least competitive in different ways than men. At the Harvard Law School, for instance, female students enter with creden
36、tials just as outstanding as those of their male peers. But they dont qualify for the prestigious Law Review in proportionate numbers, a fact some school officials attribute to womens discomfort in the incredibly competitive atmosphere. Students of management styles have found fewer differences than
37、 they expected between men and women who reach leadership positions, perhaps because many successful women deliberately imitate masculine ways. But an analysis by Purdue social psychologist Alice Eagly of 166 studies of leadership style did find one consistent difference: Men tend to be more “autocr
38、atic“ making decisions on their own while women tend to consult colleagues and subordinates more often. Studies of behavior in small groups turn up even more differences. Men will typically dominate the discussion, says University of Toronto psychologist Kenneth Dion, spending more time talking and
39、less time listening. 31 The passage mainly discusses_. （ A） how sex differences are demonstrated in social relations （ B） how hormone determines sex differences （ C） why there are differences between males and females （ D） why men and women have different social roles 32 Which of the following is tr
40、ue of womens nurturing nature according to the passage? （ A） It is not inborn in any sense. （ B） It is inspired by womens families. （ C） It is caused by social prejudice （ D） It is partly biological in origin. 33 The Harvard Law School example in paragraph 3 suggests that_. （ A） women are not as com
41、petitive as men （ B） law is not the right profession for women （ C） women are as excellent as men when they are young （ D） academic credentials are disproportionate to performance 34 Which of the following statement is true according to paragraph 4? （ A） Men leaders should consult colleagues and sub
42、ordinates more often. （ B） Female leaders success is due to their imitating male leaders. （ C） Men and women are different in their leadership style. （ D） Decisiveness is an important quality for a successful politician. 35 It can be inferred from the passage that the writer_. （ A） denies the differ
43、ence sexes make in reall life （ B） is prejudiced against men （ C） discourages women to be competitive （ D） treats sex difference objectively Part B Directions: Read the text, match the items (61-65) to one of the statements (A to G) given below. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. 35 Jackson: Viewe
44、d from a scientists standpoint, all of the energy contained in fuel either now or in the future becomes heat. Some of the heat is used directly or produces useful work. The rest is lost or rejected. That is to say, it is radiated into the atmosphere from the engines, motors, furnaces, power lines, t
45、elevision sets, boilers and all the other energy-consuming machinery that makes our wheels go around. Browning: It is necessary to improve the efficiency with which we use energy in order to do more work. But improvement cannot come overnight, and there are limits beyond which not even science can h
46、elp. According to the Center for Strategic and International studies, about three quarters of the energy we use to move things, including ourselves, accomplishes no useful work. Jeffrey: In terms of efficiency, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation may be using energy more efficien
47、tly than private automobiles. Unless private automobiles can operate at near capacity, their overall efficiency is poor. For example, an urban bus carrying 36 passengers may achieve an efficiency of around 120 passenger-miles per gallon of gasoline. But buses are not always fully loaded, and sometim
48、es they carry no passengers at all. Vandenberg: It is true that buses can sometimes run without passengers. City trains seem to be very efficient, but they suffer the same shortcomings as buses and cost more. Except for rush hours, commuter trains seldom run at full capacity. This wastes even more e
49、nergy and is more than the management can afford. As a result, commuter trains are truly practical only in places where there are a lot of people. Nathan: For some people, mass transportation may serve their needs. For others, a combination of mass transportation and private transportation may be preferable. Better design and wise use of both mass transportation systems and private vehicle
