1、2008年 3月国家公共英语（五级）真题试卷（精选）及答案与解析 一、 Section II Use of English (15 minutes) Directions: Read the following text and fill each of the numbered spaces with ONE suitable word. Write your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. 0 If you are buying a property in France, whether for a permanent or a holiday home, it is
2、 important to open a French bank account. Although it is possible to exist on traveller s cheques, Eurocheques and credit cards【 1】 _by British banks, the【 2】_for these【 3】 _can be expensive. The simplest way to pay regular【 4】 _, such as electricity, gas or telephone, 【 5】 _when you are not in resi
3、dence, is by direct debit(a sum withdrawn from an account)from your French account. To【 6】 _a current account, you will need to【 7】 _your passport and birth【 8】 _and to provide your address in the United Kingdom. You will be issued with a cheque book within weeks of opening the account. In France it
4、 is illegal to be overdrawn. All accounts must be operated【 9】 _credit. However, there are no【 10】 _charges. Note that cheques【 11】 _longer to clear in France than in Britain, and can only be stopped【 12】 _stolen or lost. The easiest way to【 13】 _money from a British bank account to a French【 14】 _i
5、s by bank transfer. You simply provide your British bank with the name, address and【 15】 _of your French bank account. The procedure takes about a week and【 16】 _between 5 and 40 for each transaction, 【 17】 _on your British bank. 【 18】 _, you can transfer money【 19】 _a French bank in London. You can
6、 also send a sterling cheque(allow at least 12 days for the cheque to be cleared), Eurocheques or traveller s【 20】 _. Finally, it is a good idea to make a friend of your French bank manager. His help can prove invaluable. Part A Directions: Read the following texts and answer the questions which acc
7、ompany them by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. 20 To produce the upheaval in the United States that changed and modernized the domain of higher education from the mid-1860 s to the mid-1880 s, three primary causes interacted. The mergence of a half-dozen leaders in educat
8、ion provided the personal force that was needed. Moreover, an outcry for a fresher, more practical, and more advanced kind of instruction arose among the alumni and friends of nearly all of the old colleges and grew into a movement that overrode all conservative opposition. The aggressive “Young Yal
9、e“ movement appeared, demanding partial alumni control, a more liberal spirit, and a broader course of study. The graduates of Harvard University simultaneously rallied to relieve the University s poverty and demand new enterprise. Education was pushing toward higher standard in the East by throwing
10、 off church leadership everywhere, and in the West by finding a wider range of studies and a new sense of public duty. The old-style classical education received its most crushing blow in the citadel of Harvard University, where Dr. Charles Elliot, a young captain of thirty-five, son of a former tre
11、asurer of Harvard led the progressive forces. Five revolutionary advances were made during the five years of Dr. Elliot administration. They were the elevation and amplification of entrance requirements, the enlargement of the curriculum and the development of the elective system, the recognition of
12、 graduate study in the liberal arts, the raising of professional training in law, medicine, and engineering to a postgraduate level, and the fostering of greater maturity in student life. Standards of admission were sharply advanced in 1872 -1873 and 1876 -1877. By the appointment of a dean to take
13、charge of student affairs , and a wise handling of discipline, the undergraduates were led to regard themselves more as young gentlemen and less as young“animals. One new course of study after another was opened up science, music, the history of the fine arts, advanced Spanish, political economy, ph
14、ysics, classical philology, and international law. 21 The passage mainly deals with_. （ A） innovations in the United States higher education in the late 1800s （ B） Harvard University graduates success （ C） the development of Harvard University （ D） the aggressive “Young Yale“ movement 22 Which of th
15、e following is one of the causes of the educational innovations? （ A） Efforts made by church leaders. （ B） Rallies held by graduates of Harvard University. （ C） Demand for a more advanced mode of teaching among the graduates of the old colleges. （ D） The limitation of the range of studies. 23 Accord
16、ing to the passage, what can be inferred about Harvard University before the innovations? （ A） Courses were more practical. （ B） Educators laid great stress on the maturity in student life. （ C） Admission standards were higher. （ D） Students were younger. 24 Which of the following can be inferred fr
17、om the passage about old-style classical education? （ A） Most students majored in law. （ B） The courses were too difficult. （ C） The curriculum was not reasonable. （ D） Students could get Masters degree in the liberal arts. 25 Which of the following is not true? （ A） Several leaders in education mad
18、e great efforts to promote the educational innovations. （ B） Church leaders influenced education a lot before the progressive changed. （ C） College entrance requirements were elevated in the late 1800s. （ D） The sense of public duty was neglected in the late 1800s. 25 In recent years, there has been
19、 an increasing awareness of the inadequacies of the judicial system in the United States. Costs are staggering both for the taxpayers and the litigants and, the litigants, or parties, have to wait sometimes many years before having their day in court. Many suggestions have been made concerning metho
20、ds of ameliorating the situation but, as in most branches of government, changes come slowly. One suggestion that has been made in order to maximize the efficiency of the systems is to allow districts that have an overabundance of pending cases to borrow judges from other districts that do not have
21、such a backlog. Another suggestion is to use pretrial conferences, in which the judge meets in his chambers with the litigants and their attorneys in order to narrow the issues, limit the witnesses, and provide for a more orderly trial. The theory behind pretrial conferences is that judges will spen
22、d less time on each case and parties will more readily settle before trial when they realize the adequacy of their claims and their opponents evidence. Unfortunately, at least one study had shown that pretrial conferences actually use more judicial time than they save, rarely result in pretrial sett
23、lements, and actually result in higher damage settlements. Many states have now established another method, small-claims courts, in which cases over small sums of money can be disposed of with considerable dispatch. Such proceedings cost the litigants almost nothing. In California, for example, the
24、parties must appear before the judge without the assistance of counsel. The proceedings are quite informal and there is no pleading the litigants need to make only a one-sentence statement of their claim. By going to this type of courts, the plaintiff waives any right to jury trial and the right to
25、appeal the decision. In coming years, we can expect to see more and more innovations in the continuing effort to remedy a situation which must be remedied if the citizens who have valid claims are going to be able to have their day in court. 26 The word “litigants“ in Paragraph 1 refers to_. （ A） ju
26、dges （ B） attorneys （ C） persons concerned in a lawsuit （ D） government officials 27 The word “backlog“ in Paragraph 2 means_. （ A） burden （ B） a group of pending cases that were not dealt with at the proper time （ C） litigant （ D） situation 28 The suggestions or methods of improving the judicial sy
27、stem in the United States mentioned in the passage include all the following except_. （ A） to allow districts that have an overabundance of pending cases to borrow judges from other districts （ B） to establish small-claims courts （ C） to request plaintiffs to waive the right to jury trial and the ri
28、ght to appeal the decision （ D） to use pretrial conferences 29 Which of the following is true? （ A） Lawsuit costs are usually quite high both for the taxpayers and the litigants. （ B） To use pretrial conferences proves to be quite feasible in maximizing the efficiency of the judicial system in US. （
29、 C） At present, most litigants prefer small-claims courts in US because cases can be settled with considerable dispatch. （ D） It is possible to have one s case heard by a jury if the litigant is not satisfied with the small-claims court s decision. 30 The purpose of writing this article is_. （ A） to
30、 show the inadequacies of the judicial system in the United States （ B） to compare different suggestions （ C） to find the advantages and disadvantages of the judicial system in the United States （ D） to discuss the methods of ameliorating the judicial system in the United States 30 In 1959 the avera
31、ge American family paid $ 989 for a year s supply of food. In 1972 the family paid $ 1, 311. That was a price increase of nearly one third. Every family has had this sort of experience. Everyone a-grees that the cost of feeding a family has risen sharply. But there is less agreement when reasons for
32、 the rise are being discussed. Who is really responsible? Many blame the farmers who produce the vegetables, fruit, meat, eggs, and cheese mat are stored for sale. According to the U. S. Department of Agriculture, the farmer s share of the $ 1, 311 spent by the family in 1972 was $ 521. This was thi
33、rty-one percent more than the farmer had received in 1959. But farmers claim that this increase was very small compared to the increase in their cost of living. Fanners tend to blame others for the sharp rise in food prices. They particularly blame those who process the farm products after the produ
34、cts leave the farm. These include truck drivers, meat packers, manufacturers of packages and other food containers, and the owners of stores where food is sold. They are among the “ middlemen“ who stand between the farmer and the people who buy and eat the food. Are middlemen the ones to blame for r
35、ising food prices? Of the $ 1, 311 family food bill in 1972, middlemen received $ 790, which was thirty-three percent more than they had received in 1959. It appears that the middlemen s profit has increased more than the farmer s. But some e-conomists claim that the middlemen s actual profit was ve
36、ry low. According to economists at the First National City Bank, the profit for meat packers and food stores amounted to less than one percent. During the same period all other manufacturers were making a profit of more than five percent. By comparison with other members of the economic system, both
37、 farmers and middlemen have profited surprisingly little from the rise in food prices. Who then is actually responsible for the size of the bill a housewife must pay before she carries the food from the store? The economists at First National City Bank have an answer to give housewives, but many peo
38、ple will not like it. These economists blame the housewife herself for the jump in food prices. They say that food costs more now because women dont want to spend much time in the kitchen. Women prefer to buy food which has already been prepared before it reaches the market. 31 What is the main topi
39、c of this passage? （ A） Food supply. （ B） Profit earned by farmers, middlemen, and housewives. （ C） Reasons for the food price increase. （ D） Economists attitudes. 32 According to the passage, the following groups of people are mentioned to have been blamed for rising food prices except_. （ A） farme
40、rs （ B） middlemen （ C） housewives （ D） economists 33 According to the economists, who is actually responsible for the jump in food prices? （ A） Farmers. （ B） Housewives. （ C） Middlemen. （ D） The owners of stores. 34 For the middlemen, which of the following is NOT true? （ A） They refer to truck driv
41、ers, meat packers, manufacturers of packages and other food containers, and the owners of stores where food is sold. （ B） Their profit is lower than supposed. （ C） They stand between the farmers and the people who buy and eat the food. （ D） They make the same profit as the farmers. 35 Farmers should
42、 not be blamed for the rise because_. （ A） they produce the vegetables and other things （ B） they get only a small share in the profit （ C） they work very hard （ D） their cost of living has also risen Part B Directions: In the following article some paragraphs have been removed. For Questions 66-70,
43、 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. 35 Millions of man-hours are lost to industry through employees suffering backache or strain caused by opera
44、ting poorly designed machines and vehicles or moving awkward and heavy loads. Production is also interrupted by injury from other causes, such as vibration and excessive noise. 66._ But help is coming from a perhaps unexpected quarter for companies prepared to plan their workshops and manufacturing
45、lines to take account of these hazards. The necessary information is emerging from a recently formed team of Ministry of Defense scientists at the Army Personnel Research Establishment at Farnborough. They are measuring factors which limit a soldier s ability to cope with advanced technical equipmen
46、t and new types of vehicles, or to carry out routine jobs under difficult working conditions. The problems of the factory and office manager may at first sight seem distant from those of the Army. 67._ A task force of 120 physiologists, biologists, computer scientists, technologists and soldiers is
47、therefore looking for the point at which human factors set the limit to the use of technology. It is the stage at which no matter how advanced the engineering, it is the man who caused the complicated e-quipment to fail. Dr. John Nelms, director of the establishment, says: “In an era when there is a
48、lmost nothing the engineer can not build, man is the limiting factor. The research program marks a new stage in the evolution of the army in looking at how best to make the soldier and technology compatible. If we do not get the relationship right, the next battlefield could be a shambles. “ To meet
49、 the vast range of occupational hazards faced by the armed forces, the research group is measuring the limits imposed by physical stress arising from heat and cold, noise and vibration, psychological pressure, and the operational stress of putting high technology system into battleground conditions. The army also has an obligation during peacetime and training exercises to ensure that its men are exposed to greater
