1、2008年大学生英语竞赛（ NECCS） A类（研究生）决赛真题试卷（精选）及答案与解析 一、 Part Vocabulary and Structure 1 You have managed to bungle every task Ive given you so far. _, I am prepared to give you one last chance. （ A） Overall （ B） Regardless （ C） Nevertheless （ D） Furthermore 2 Westinghouse is close to completing its transfor
2、mation into _ with the sale of its power-generation business to Siemens of Germany for $1.53 billion. （ A） a media company （ B） the companys media （ C） the company media （ D） mass medias company 3 The pilot spoke to the passengers to _ their fears when the plane was hit by a storm. （ A） choke （ B） s
3、trike （ C） deter （ D） allay 4 Astronomers have learned that the spectacular tails of comets are extremely tenuous bodies, _ particles that the pressure of light can bend them. （ A） comprising the least （ B） composed of such minute （ C） composed of very large （ D） having so small number of 5 Occasion
4、ally serious crimes are committed there but they are _ incidents, not part of a widespread problem. （ A） detached （ B） solitary （ C） isolated （ D） separated 6 Ginger, pepper, cinnamon and some other aromatic flavours might be used for seasoning meat and fish, _ was particularly important when there
5、were no refrigerators. （ A） that （ B） what （ C） there （ D） which 7 The arguments among the staff dont _ a good atmosphere in the office. （ A） make for （ B） get at （ C） head for （ D） build to 8 When I got back, they had eaten the whole cake and just a few _ were left on the plate. （ A） grains （ B） cr
6、umbs （ C） drops （ D） shreds 9 He can only blame himself for failing the exam. He _ harder during the year, but he seemed to go out with a different gift every weekend. （ A） would have worked （ B） should have worked （ C） must work （ D） ought to work 10 Your correspondence and relations with Walter ar
7、e known to me; _ connected with the disappearance of Mr. Barlow. （ A） so are the circumstances （ B） as well as the circumstances （ C） the circumstances are as well （ D） as well are the circumstances 11 _ various internal and external sources of finance that a business can employ when seeking to fund
8、 its operations. （ A） It exists （ B） There exist （ C） There is （ D） It does 12 Because of his poor health, it took him a long time to _ his bad cold. （ A） throw over （ B） throw away （ C） throw down （ D） throw off 13 In adults similar symptoms of scurvy develop in people _ who have been deprived of f
9、resh food for a long time. （ A） such as sailors or the other （ B） as sailors or other （ C） such as sailors or another （ D） like sailors or others 14 Doctor: Morning, Mr. White. Come in. And what can I do for you today? Patient: Well, doctor, _ I often wake up at 3:00 in the morning and I just cant g
10、et back to sleep. Doctor: I see and how long has this been going on? Patient: Oh, about a month now. I wonder if you could prescribe something. （ A） Im having difficulty sleeping. （ B） Im watching TV every night. （ C） Im getting too much sleep. （ D） Im eating too much. 15 Man: Im afraid I got stoppe
11、d by the police for speeding today, dear. Woman: Oh no, David. You didnt, did you ! Man: _. Woman: Thats dreadful. We cant afford that. You really should drive more slowly! （ A） No, I met a friend on my way home. （ B） No, I had to pay a lot of money for parking. （ C） Yes, I was caught by a policeman
12、. （ D） Yes, I got an on the spot fine of $ 280.00. 二、 Part Reading Comperhension 15 The best way to learn is to teach. This is the message emerging from experiments in several schools in which teenage pupils who have problems at school themselves are tutoring younger children-with remarkable results
13、 for both sides. According to American research, pupil tutoring wins “hands down“ over computerized instruction and American teachers say that no other recent innovation has proved so consistently successful. Now the idea is spreading in Britain. Throughout this term, a group of 14-year-olds at Trin
14、ity Comprehensive in Leamington Spa have been spending an hour a week helping children at a nearby primary school with their reading. The younger children read aloud to their tutors (who are supervised by university students of education) and then play word games with them. All the 14-year-olds have
15、 some of their own lessons in a special unit for children who have difficulties at school. Though their intelligence is around average, most of them have fallen behind in reading, writing and maths and in some cases. This has led to truancy or bad behaviour in class. Jean Bond, who is running the sp
16、ecial unit, while on sabbatical from Warwick Universitys education department, says that the main benefit of tutoring is that it improves the adolescents self-esteem. “The younger children come rushing up every time and welcome them. It makes the tutors feel important whereas, in normal school lesso
17、ns, they often feel inadequate. Everyone benefits. The older children need practice in reading but, if they had to do it in their own classes, they would say it was kids stuff and be worried about losing face. The younger children get individual attention from very patient people. The tutors are str
18、uggling at school themselves, so when the younger ones cant learn, they know exactly why. “ The tutors agree. “When I was little, I used to skive and say that I couldnt do things when I really could,“ says Mark Greger. “The boy Ive been teaching does the same. He says he cant read a page of his book
19、 so I tell him that if he does do it, we can play a game. That works. “ The young children speak warmly of their new teachers. “He doesnt shout like our teachers,“ says eight-year-old Jenny of her tutor, Cliff MeFarlane who, among his own teachers, has a reputation for being a handful. Yet Cliff see
20、s himself as a tough teacher. “If they get a word wrong,“ he says, “I keep them at it until they get it right. “ Jean Bond, who describes pupil tutoring as an “educational conjuring trick“, has run two previous experiments. In one, six persistent truants, aged 15 upwards, tutored 12 slow-learning in
21、fants in reading and maths. None of the six played truant from any of the tutoring sessions. “The degree of concentration they showed while working with their pupils was remarkable for pupils who had previously shown little ability to concentrate on anything related to schoolwork for any period of t
22、ime,“ says Bond. The tutors became “reliable, conscientious caring individuals“. Their own reading, previously mechanical and monotonous, became far more expressive as a result of reading stories aloud to infants. Their view of education, which they had previously dismissed as “crap“ and “a waste of
23、 time“, was transformed. They became firmly resolved to teach their own children to read before starting school because, as one of them put it, “If they go for a job and they cant write, theyre not going to employ you, are they?“ The tutors also became more sympathetic to their own teachers difficul
24、ties, because they were frustrated themselves when the infants “mucked about“. In the seven weeks of the experiment, concludes Bond, “These pupils received more recognition, reward and feelings of worth than they had previously experienced in many years of formal schooling. “ And the infants, accord
25、ing to their own teachers, showed measurable gains in reading skills by the end of the scheme. 16 The majority of the tutors in the Trinity experiment are students who _. （ A） cause discipline problems at school （ B） are unable to read or write （ C） frequently stay away from school （ D） have some di
26、fficulties in learning 17 According to the writer, the young tutors normally wouldnt practise reading in their own class because _. （ A） they consider it humiliating （ B） they wouldnt be able to concentrate （ C） their teachers thought it was not necessary （ D） their teachers would get impatient with
27、 them 18 The main reason that the young tutors make such successful teachers seems to be that _. （ A） they enjoy being the centre Of attention （ B） they know their pupils problems very well （ C） they are never strict with their pupils （ D） their pupils enjoy playing games with them 19 Pupil tutoring
28、 is described as “an educational conjuring trick“ because _. （ A） everyone understands why it works so well （ B） it has caught the attention of the media （ C） educational authorities are suspicious of it （ D） it is a simple idea with extraordinary results 20 The most significant result of the experi
29、ments carried out so far seems to be that the tutors _. （ A） learnt to overcome their fear of reading aloud （ B） improved their pupils ability to concentrate （ C） benefited from an increase in their self-respect （ D） came to see the importance of reading and writing skills 20 If asked, “What are hea
30、lth decisions?“, most of us would answer in terms of hospitals, doctors and pills. Yet we are all making a whole range of decisions about our health which go beyond this limited area; for example, whether or not to smoke, exercise, drive a motorbike, or drink alcohol really. The ways we reach decisi
31、ons and form attitudes about our health are only just beginning to be understood. The main paradox is why people consistently do things which are known to be very hazardous. Two good examples of this are smoking and not wearing seat belts. Both these examples underline elements of how people reach d
32、ecisions about their health. Understanding this process is crucial. We can then more effectively change public attitudes to hazardous, voluntary activities like smoking. Smokers run double the risk of contracting heart disease, several times the risk of suffering from chronic bronchitis and at least
33、 25 times the risk of lung cancer, as compared to non-smokers. Despite extensive press campaigns ( especially in the past 20 years) , which have regularly told smokers and car drivers the grave risks they are running, the number of smokers and seat belt wearers has remained much the same. Although t
34、he number of deaths from road accidents and smoking are well publicised, they have aroused little public interest. If we give smokers the real figures, will it alter their views on the dangers of smoking? Unfortunately not. Many of the “real figures“ are in the form of probabilistic estimates, and e
35、vidence shows that people are very bad at processing and understanding this kind of information. The kind of information that tends to be relied on both by the smoker and seat belt non-wearer is anecdotal, based on personal experiences. All smokers seem to have an Uncle Bill or an Auntie Mabel who h
36、as been smoking cigarettes since they were twelve, lived to 90, and died because they fell down the stairs. And if they dont have such an aunt or uncle, they are certain to have heard of someone who has. Similarly, many motorists seem to have heard of people who would have been killed if they had be
37、en wearing seat belts. Reliance on this kind of evidence and not being able to cope with “probabilistic“ data form the two main foundation stones of peoples assessment of risk. A third is reliance on press-publicised dangers and causes of death. American psychologists have shown that people overesti
38、mate the frequency (and therefore the danger) of the dramatic causes of death (like aeroplane crashes)and underestimate the undramatic, unpublicised killers (like smoking) which actually take a greater toll of life. What is needed is some way of changing peoples evaluations of and attitudes to the r
39、isks of certain activities like smoking. What can be done? The “national“ approach of giving people the “facts and figures“ seems ineffective. But the evidence shows that when people are frightened, they are more likely to change their estimates of the dangers involved in smoking or not wearing seat
40、 belts. Press and television can do this very cost-effectively. Programmes like Dying for a Fag (a Thames TV programme) vividly showed the health hazards of smoking and may have increased the chances of people stopping smoking permanently. So a mass-media approach may work. But it needs to be carefu
41、lly controlled. Overall, the new awareness of the problem of health decisions and behaviour is at least a more hopeful sign for the future. For answers 51-55, mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N (for NO) if the statement contradicts the information g
42、iven in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage. 21 The way people make decisions that affect their own health is not logical. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 22 People are good at processing and understanding “probabilistic“ data about health. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 23 N
43、owadays more and more people pay attention to their health and lifestyle. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 24 Most people dont regard the danger of smoking as serious as the danger of an aeroplane crash. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 25 The mass-media can help people change their view of smoking and not wearing seat b
44、elts. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 26 For answers 56-60, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage in a maximum of 4 words. 27 That people are constantly doing things that are known to be dangerous to their health is a main _. 28 Usually, smokers assess the dangers of smoking accordi
45、ng to _ , not the publicized data. 29 It is important to change peoples _ to the risks of certain activities like smoking. 30 People will change their ideas about the dangers involved in smoking or not wearing seat belts, when they are _. 31 This article discusses why people fail to make good _. 31
46、Start at the beginning: Civil Service clerk, temporary, at the local Ministry of Works depot in my hometown, cant get any lower than that. At the base of the bureaucratic pyramid, buried alive in fact, the temporary clerk is the navy of the Civil Service, without status or security. When I took the
47、job Id only worked in factories, and so I was a bit in awe of the office world I was about to enter. As an apprentice, queuing in the spotless corridor on Thursday outside the wage windows, peering in at the comparative purity of desks and paper and slick, dandified staff, you got a queer, dizzy sen
48、sation. My brother was a clerk himself, at the Council House, but I never connected him with this Thursday vision. On my first day as a clerk, going down the street with my brother, I confessed how nervous I was. “Listen, “ he said, “you can write your name, cant you? You can add up? Then you can be
49、 a clerk. “ It was true. The depot was a big old house near the city centre, with the offices upstairs. My boss had a room at the front to himself, and behind him was a door leading to my den, which contained three others. This boss, a big, bumbling, embarrassed man, addressed us all with the “Mr. “ fixed firmly between, as if to maintain his distance. Everyone accepted his remoteness as inevitable, something which struck me as
