1、2005年同济大学考博英语真题试卷及答案与解析 一、 Reading Comprehension 0 As one works with color in a practical or experimental way, one is impressed by two apparently unrelated facts. Color as seen is a mobile changeable thing depending to a large extent on the relationship of the color to other colores seen simultaneou
2、sly. It is not fixed in its relation to the direct stimulus which creates it. On the other hand, the properties of surfaces that give rise to color do not seem to change greatly under a wide variety of illumination colors, usually (but not always) looking much the same in artificial light as in dayl
3、ight. Both of these effects seem to the due in large part to the mechanism of color adaptation mentioned earlier. When the eye is fixed on a colored area, there is an immediate readjustment of the sensitivity of the eye to color in and around the area viewed. This readjustment does not immediately a
4、ffect the color seen but usually does affect the next area to which the gaze is shifted. The longer the time of viewing, the higher the intensity, and the larger the area, the greater the effect will be in terms of its persistence in the succeeding viewing situation. As indicated by the work of Wrig
5、ht and Schouten, it appears that, at least for a first approximation, full adaptation takes place over a very brief time if the adapting source is moderately bright and the eye has been in relative darkness just previously. As the stimulus is allowed to act, however, the effect, becomes more persist
6、ent in the sense that it takes the eye longer to regain its sensitivity to lower intensities. The net result is that, if the eye is so exposed and then the gaze is transferred to an area of lower intensity, the loss of sensitivity produced by the first area will still be present and appear as an “af
7、terimage“ super imposed on the second. The effect not only is present over the actual area causing the “local adaptation“ but also spreads with decreasing strength to adjoining areas of the eye to produce “lateral adaptation“. Also, because of the persistence of the effect if the eye is shifted arou
8、nd from one object to another, all of which are at similar brightnesses or have similar colors, the adaptation will tend to become uniform over the whole eye. 1 This selection is concerned primarily with _. （ A） the eyes adaptation to color （ B） the properties of colored surfaces （ C） the effect of
9、changes in color intensity （ D） experiments on colored objects 2 Whether a colored object would, on two viewings separated in time, appear to the viewer as similar or different in color would depend mostly on _. （ A） the color mechanism of the eye in use at the time of each viewing （ B） what kind of
10、 viewing had immediately preceded each of the viewings （ C） the properties of the surface being viewed （ D） whether the object was seen in artificial or natural light 3 If a persons eye has been looking at an object in bright sunlight for some time, and then shifts to an object not well lit-such as
11、a lawn or shrub in shadow-we can expect （ A） a time lag in the focusing ability of the eye （ B） the immediate loss of the “afterimage“ of the first object （ C） some inability to see colors of the latter-named objects until loss of sensitivity has been regained （ D） adaptation in the central area of
12、the eye but little adaptation in the lateral areas to the new intensity level 4 The present selection has apparently been preceded by some explanation of _. （ A） some experiments with color pigments （ B） the nature of color （ C） the color properties of various surfaces （ D） the mechanism of eyes ada
13、ptation to color 4 In the opinion of many Americans and Europeans, we only began to really explore our world in the sixteenth century. According to them, the sailors of the ancient world did not explore distant parts of the world; they did not have the necessary knowledge or skills for long sea jour
14、neys. However, the people who have this opinion are forgetting two important facts of history. First, sometimes early scientists have an idea which is correct, but scientists in later centuries do not believe it. For example, about 270 B. C., a Greek scientist had an idea which we all believe today:
15、 The earth moves around the sun. But for the following 1,600 years scientists did not believe this. In their opinion, the sun clearly moved around the earth. They discovered the truth again only in the fifteenth century! The second fact of history that many people forget is this: Ancient does not me
16、an primitive. For example, the ancient Egyptians knew a great deal about the stars; they used this knowledge to find their way across the oceans. Two thousand years ago a Greek scientist who lived in Egypt calculated the distance around the earth. The results of his calculations were close to the re
17、al distance we know today! So the ancients had a great deal of scientific knowledge. They also had skills which equaled the skills of to- day. For example, 1,300 years ago and before, fishermen in Ireland built their boats of wood and leather. Today some fishermen in Ireland still make boats of the
18、same de- sign. They use tools and materials which are not very different from the tools and materitals which their ancestors used. Why? The ancient design of the boats was good, and with skillful sailors, these boats can sail in all kinds of weather. Clearly long before the sixteenth century, people
19、 had the skill, the knowledge and the equipment which were necessary for long journeys by sea. The world did not have to wait until the sixteenth century for its first explorers! 5 Which of the following statements is consistent with the passage? （ A） According to the writer, we only began to really
20、 explore the world in the sixteenth century. （ B） In the history of science, people sometimes have to discover a fact a second time. （ C） The ancient Egyptians had very little knowledge about the stars. （ D） The writer agrees with many Americans and Europeans except for the two facts mentioned in th
21、e passage. 6 Why does the writer use the example of the Greek scientist who calculated the distance around the world? （ A） He wants to show the primitive knowledge of ancient scientists. （ B） He wants to give an example of something which later scientists did not believe. （ C） He wants to give an ex
22、ample of scientific knowledge which was available to early explorers. （ D） He wants to show that science has not been developing significantly. 7 According to the writer, why do Irish fishermen still use boats like the boats which their ancestors used 1,000 years ago? （ A） Boats made of wood or leat
23、her are light and fast. （ B） The necessary materials are easily available. （ C） They dont have the money for expensive boats. （ D） The design of the boats is very good. 8 “People from the ancient world sailed around Africa. They even reached America.“ In your opinion, how would the writer of the pas
24、sage feel about these ideas? （ A） He has used this as an important fact to praise ancient civilization. （ B） He does not believe them. （ C） In his opinion, ancient explorers did not have the skills necessary for long journeys. （ D） In his opinion, they are possible. 8 I can think of no better career
25、 for a young novelist than to for some years a sub-editor on a rather conservative newspaper. The man who was of chief importance to me in those days was the chief sub-editor, George Anderson. I hated him in my first week, but I grew almost to love him before three years had passed. A small elderly
26、Scotsman with a flushed face and laconic humour, he drove a new sub-editor hard with his sarcasm. Sometimes I almost fancied myself back at school again, and I was always glad when five-thirty came, for immediately the clock marked the hour when the pubs opened, he would take his bowler hat from the
27、 coat-rack and disappear for thirty minutes to his favourite bar. His place would be taken by the gentle and courteous Colonel Maude. Maude was careful to see that the new recruit was given no story which could possibly stretch his powers, and if he had been chief sub-editor I doubt if I would ever
28、have got further than a News in Brief paragraph. At the stroke of six, when Anderson returned and hung up his bowler, his face would have turned a deeper shade of red, to match the rose he carried always in his button hole, and his shafts of criticism, as he scanned my copy with perhaps a too flagra
29、nt headline, would have acquired a tang of friendliness. More than two years went by, and my novel The Man Within had been accepted by a publisher, before I discovered one slack evening, when there was hardly enough news to fill the Home pages for the ten oclock edition, that a poet manque had dug t
30、hose defenses of disappointed sarcasm. When a young man, Anderson had published a volume of translations from Verlaine; he had sent it to Swinburne at The Pines and he had been entertained there for tea and kind words by Watts-Dunton, though I dont think he was allowed to see the poet. He never refe
31、rred to the episode again, but I began to detect in him a harsh but paternal apprehension for another young man, flushed with pride in a first book, who might suffer the same disappointment. When I came to resign he spent a long time arguing with me, and I think his real reason for trying to prevent
32、 my departure was that he foresaw a time might come when novel-writing would fail me and I would need, like himself, a quiet and secure life with the pubs opening at half-past five and the coal settling in the grate. 9 George Andersons technique in training his assistants was to _. （ A） stand over t
33、hem while they worked and make unpleasant remarks （ B） go out for a drink and let them solve their own problems （ C） provoke them into disliking him （ D） use bitter humour to draw their attention to their mistakes 10 The writer realized afterwards that （ A） Colonel Maude would deliberately have prev
34、ented him from rising in his profession （ B） Colonel Maude was too cautious to give a young writer a chance to distinguish himself （ C） he could not have gone on working for the newspaper it Colonel Maude had not taken over from Anderson （ D） chief sub-editors should be kind, like Colonel Maude 11 W
35、hen Anderson returned from the pub he was usually _. （ A） red in the face from heavy drinking （ B） more conscious of the writers mistakes （ C） more good-humoured towards him （ D） a little careless in reading the writers copy 12 The reason for Andersons sarcastic humour was that he _. （ A） envied the
36、 writer for having published a novel （ B） had had a volume of poetry rejected by a publisher （ C） had not been able to fulfill his early ambitions （ D） was bored when there was not enough news to fill the paper 13 The writer thinks that Anderson tried to persuade him to stay on because （ A） he was a
37、fraid that he would find creative writing an unrewarding career （ B） he was afraid of losing such a valuable employee （ C） he thought the writer was too pleased with himself （ D） he was disappointed by his resignation 13 Today the study of language in our schools is somewhat confusing. It is the mos
38、t traditional of scholastic subjects being taught in a time when many of our traditions no longer fit our needs. You to whom these pages are addressed speak English and are therefore in a worse case than any other literate people. People pondering the origin of language for the first time usually ar
39、rive at the conclusion that it developed gradually as a system of conventionalized grunts, hisses, and cries and must have been a very simple affair in the beginning. But when we observe the language behavior of what we regard as primitive cultures, we find it strikingly elaborate and complicated. S
40、refansson, the explorer said that “in order to get along reasonably well an Eskimo must have at the tip of his tongue a vocabulary of more than 10,000 words, much larger than the active vocabulary of an average businessman who speaks English.“ Moreover these Eskimo words are far more highly inflecte
41、d than those of any of the well-known European languages, for a single noun can be spoken or writ- ten in several hundred different forms, each having a precise meaning different from that of any other. The forms of the verbs are even more numerous. The Eskimo language is, therefore, one of the most
42、 difficult in the world to learn, with the result that almost no traders or explorers have even tried to, learn it. Consequently there has grown up, in intercourse between Eskimos and whites, a jargon similar to the pidgin English used in China, with a vocabulary of from 300 to 600 uninflected words
43、, most of them derived from Eskimo but some derived from English, Danish, Spanish, Hawaiian and other languages. It is this jargon which is usually referred to by travelers as “the Eskimo language“. And Professor Thalbitzer of Copenhagen, who did take the trouble to learn Eskimo, seems to endorse th
44、e explorers view when he writes: “The language is polysynthetic“. The grammar is extremely rich in flexional forms, the conjugations of a common verb being served by about 350 suffixes, equivalent to personal pronouns and verb endings. For the declension of a noun there are 150 suffixes (for dual an
45、d plural, local cases, and possessive flexion. Tim demonstrative pronouns have separate flex- ions. The derivative endings effective in the vocabulary and the construction of sentences-like words amount to at least 250. Notwithstanding all these constructive peculiarities, the grammatical and synthe
46、tic system is remarkably concise and, in its own way, logical. 14 Tile size of the Eskimo language spoken by most whites is _. （ A） spoken in England, Denmark, Spain, and Hawaii （ B） less than the size of the language spoken by Eskimos （ C） highly inflected （ D） inestimable 15 Some of the evidence a
47、bout language in the passage is taken from the observations of _. （ A） linguists （ B） Eskimos （ C） businessmen （ D） primitive cultures 16 The authors overall point is that _. （ A） primitive languages may be large, complex, and complicated （ B） primitive languages may be large, complex and logical （
48、C） primitive languages may be large, old, and logical （ D） primitive languages may be similar to pidgin English 16 The age at which young children begin to make moral discriminations about harmful actions committed against themselves or others has been the focus of recent research into the moral dev
49、elopment of children. Until recently, child psychologists supported pioneer developmentalist Jean. Piaget in his hypothesis that because of their immaturity, children under age seven do not take into account the intentions of a person commit- ting accidental or deliberate harm, but rather simply assign punishment for on the basis of the magnitude of the negative consequences caused. According to Piaget, children under age seven occupy the first stage of moral development, which is characterizsd by moral absolutism (rules mad
