1、2009年 3月中国社会科学院考博英语真题试卷及答案与解析 一、 Structure and Vocabulary 1 Instead of the champagne and hope which had heralded the impending births of the first, second and third child, the news of this one was greeted with shocked silence. （ A） hastened （ B） symbolized （ C） exulted （ D） announced 2 Babbage was a
2、 prolific inventor, whose inventions include the ophthalmoscope for examining the retina of the eye, the skeleton key, the locomotive “cow catcher“, and the speedometer. （ A） productive （ B） obstinate （ C） eminent （ D） shrewd 3 Abortion is a highly emotional issue that does not lend itself to compro
3、mise or cool debate. （ A） be applied to （ B） be subject to （ C） be affected by （ D） be suitable for 4 The reason for the ubiquitous production of light by the microorganisms of the sea remains obscure, and suggested explanations are controversial. It has been suggested that light is a kind of inadve
4、rtent by-product of life in transparent organisms. （ A） adverse （ B） obscure （ C） conspicuous （ D） negligent 5 Since “special creationism“ was an ideological target of Darwins, he found himself in a quandary. Although he did not abandon his theory, he admitted that natural selection played a much sm
5、aller part in evolution than he had previously claimed. （ A） aversion （ B） stimulus （ C） dilemma （ D） deterrent 6 Excessive intake of animal protein and fats, dangerous imbibing of alcohol, use of tobacco and drugs, and dangerous recreational sports and driving habits are all possible only because o
6、f affluence. （ A） aggregating （ B） consuming （ C） deferring （ D） replenishing 7 The technical-social way of life is a deep feature of the species adaptation, but we would err if we assumed a priori that mans inheritance placed no constraint on his power to adapt. （ A） deductively （ B） paradoxically
7、（ C） inordinately （ D） cognitively 8 The adjustment by retarding growth and arresting vital functions during winter may result in the leaf fall of middle latitude deciduous trees. （ A） perennial （ B） sophisticated （ C） temporary （ D） determined 9 If senescence is to be compatible with natural select
8、ion, there must be some concomitant benefit associated with it that outweighs its disadvantage. Since Darwinian fitness is measured by total reproduction, the advantage must be that senescence is inextricably tied up with reproductive effort. （ A） offspring （ B） depression （ C） decrepitude （ D） ster
9、ility 10 He worked closely with General Washington, wheedled money and supplies from the States, borrowed money in the face of overwhelming difficulties, and on occasion even obtained personal loans to further the war cause. （ A） coaxed （ B） plundered （ C） appropriated （ D） engendered 11 These disea
10、ses, therefore, may have as much to do with our way of life and our high-fat diets as with_weight. And the associate risk of cancer in the digestive system may be more about a dietary problemtoo much fat and lack of liver than a weight problem. （ A） excessive （ B） excess （ C） putrid （ D） impure 12 I
11、nstead of feeling surrounded by information, first-timers, “newbies“ in the_of the Net, are likely to find themselves adrift in a borderless sea. （ A） void （ B） ethic （ C） ransom （ D） jargon 13 The bombing campaign is_years of civil conflict and drought to create an environmental crisis. （ A） conten
12、ding with （ B） complying with （ C） converting to （ D） conspiring with 14 The law was intended as a(n)_measure until the administration could formulate a permanent farm program that would satisfy both the nations farmers and the Supreme Court. （ A） stopgap （ B） ambivalent （ C） devastating （ D） author
13、itarian 15 Whether one is a romanticist, a rationalist, a classicist, or one in the_hold of naturalism, he accepts words describing each as holding the same range of meaning for all views, even including that of existentialism. （ A） murky （ B） heedless （ C） grim （ D） intermittent 16 The Czarist Russ
14、ian conquest of the proud, independent sea hunters was so devas-tatingly thorough that tribal traditions, even tribal memories, were almost_. （ A） devoured （ B） designated （ C） obliterated （ D） invalidated 17 In Scholasticism and Politics, written during World War II Maritian expressed discouragemen
15、t at the pessimism and lack of self-confidence characteristic of the Western democracies, in the postwar world he joined enthusiastically in the_of that confidence. （ A） resurgence （ B） suspicion （ C） monarchy （ D） anguish 18 By the end of the nineteenth century, cities were reimbursing private hosp
16、itals for their care of _ patients and the public hospitals remained dependent on the tax dollars. （ A） indigent （ B） myriad （ C） endemic （ D） prevalent 19 To the_ values of liberty, equality, and a benevolent Christian morality were now added the middle-class virtues of hard work, honesty and integ
17、rity, the rewards of individual effort, and obedience to parents and legitimate authority. （ A） imperceptible （ B） resplendent （ C） repulsive （ D） degenerate 20 An academician wrote that Arabicthe holy language of religion, art and the Muslim sciencesis “more of_than an aid to the mind. “ （ A） inert
18、ia （ B） stigma （ C） encumbrance （ D） slump 二、 Grammar 21 Understanding the cultural habits of another nation, especially_containing many different subcultures as the United States is a complex task. （ A） those （ B） that （ C） such （ D） one 22 If half the energy that goes into violent acts were put to
19、 good use, if our efforts were directed at cleaning up the slums and ghettos, at improving living-standards and providing education and employment for all, we would not have gone a long way_at a solution. （ A） as to arrive （ B） to arriving （ C） as to arriving （ D） to arrive 23 Many readers are convi
20、nced that the compelling mysteries of each plot conceal elaboratestructures of allusion and fierce, though shadowy, moral ambitions that seem to indicate metaphysical intentions, _. （ A） though efforts by critics to articulate these intentions have generated much controversy （ B） though efforts have
21、 generated much controversy by critics efforts to articulate these intentions （ C） because of efforts these intentions have generated much controversy by critics to articulate （ D） due to efforts by critics to articulate these intentions have generated much controversy 24 Woolfs own social criticism
22、 is expressed in the language of observation_in direct commentary, since for her, fiction is a contemplative, not an active art. （ A） other than （ B） none other than （ C） rather than （ D） more than 25 _a matter of disagreeing with the theory of independence_rejecting its implications: that the roman
23、ces may be taken in any or no particular order, that they have no cumulative effect, and that they are as separate as the works of a modern novelist. （ A） It is both, and of （ B） It is not, as well as （ C） It is not quite, but of （ D） It is, except for 26 _scientists develop new ways of feeding the
24、human race, the crowded conditions on earth will make it necessary for us to look for open space somewhere else. （ A） Even if （ B） Until （ C） Once （ D） Since 27 The newly developed science of artificial intelligence aims at programming the computer to think, reason and react_people do. （ A） by the s
25、ame way as （ B） as much as the same way that （ C） with the same way as （ D） in much the same way that 28 It denies to the past an integrity and will of its own, _people acted out of a variety of motives and_events had a multiplicity of causes and effects. （ A） in that, in that （ B） in which, in whic
26、h （ C） which, which （ D） in what, in what 29 The grain could have been gathered in last week if the weather had been fine: but, _, it had to be left in the fields. （ A） as it is （ B） as it were （ C） as it had been （ D） as it was 30 Obviously, African art is neither anti-classical nor anti-naturalist
27、ic: to be either it_its roots in Classicism or in Naturalism, both European in origin. （ A） would have had to have （ B） would have had （ C） would have had to have had （ D） will have 31 Photographs of the earth taken from space show a Apredominantly blue globe, Btwo-third of its surface Cbeing covere
28、d by water. Every year an average of 7 000 cubic meters per person flows into rivers and underground channels. And yet water shortages and droughts have become a serious problem, Done that will not go away without better conservation policies. 32 Thus the question of why Jefferson didnt free his sla
29、ves only Aserves to illustrate how presentism Binvolves us in mistaken assumptions about historical conditionsin this case that an eighteenth-century slaveholder wanting to get out from under the moral stigma of slavery and Cimproving the lot of his slaves Dhad only to set them free. 33 It is true t
30、hat never in human history so many people Awere so often and so much Bexposed to so many intimations about societies, forms of life, attitude Cother than Dthose which they obtain in their own local societies. 34 A black hole is an astronomical body Awhose gravity is so strong that nothing can escape
31、 from it. It was Newton Bwho first stated that light Cis composed of particles. The French mathematician De Laplace next reasoned that if enough mass Dwas added to a star like the sun, the gravitational force of the star would eventually prevent light particles from leaving it; it would therefore “b
32、link out“ and become an invisible black star. 35 On Broadway, a play must be popular enough Ato attract audiences over a long period of time. A long run is essential because Broadway theaters are not given financial support by the government, Bas are leading theaters in most other countries. CYet, f
33、unds are raised for individual productions and must be repaid to the investors, Dif at all possible. 36 Reebok shoes, Awhich price from $27 to $85, will continue Bto be sold only in better specialty, sporting goods, and department stores, Cin accordance with the companys view Dthat consumers judge t
34、he quality of the brand by the quality of its distribution. 37 Good leaders recognize that an organizations strategies for success Arequire Bthe combining Ctalents and efforts of many people. Leadership is the catalyst Dfor transforming the talents into results. 38 Some individuals, however, have st
35、rong moral and religious beliefs Athat view abortionas an act of murder and Bthus to believe that the C“right to life“ of an unborn child should Dtake precedence over. 39 The custom of the Christmas tree is believed to have begun by Martin Luther in Germany. AThe sight of a evergreen tree on Christm
36、as eve, with stars Bblazing above, is said to have made a great impression Con him, and he put a similar tree, decorated with Dlighted candles, in his home. 40 Urbanism may produce a different style of life, but the quality of life does not differ Abetween town and city. Nor are residents of large c
37、ommunities Bany Clikely to display psychological symptoms of stress or alienation Dthan are residents of smaller communities. 三、 Reading Comprehension 40 In order to understand what a myth really is, must we choose between platitude and sophism? Some claim that human societies merely express, throug
38、h their mythology, fundamental feelings common to the whole of mankind, such as love, hate, or revenge or that they try to provide some kind of explanations for phenomena which they cannot otherwise understandastronomical, meteorological, and the like. But why should these societies do it in such el
39、aborate and devious ways, when all of them are also acquainted with empirical explanations? On the other hand, psychoanalysts and many anthropologists have shifted the problems away from the natural or cosmological toward the sociological and psychological fields. But then the interpretation becomes
40、 too easy: if a given mythology confers prominence on a certain figure, let us say an evil grandmother, it will be claimed that in such a society grandmothers are actually evil and that mythology reflects the social structure and the social relations; but should the actual data be conflicting, it wo
41、uld be as readily claimed that the purpose of mythology is to provide an outlet for repressed feelings. Whatever the situation, a clever dialectic will always find a way to pretend that a meaning has been found. Mythology confronts the student with a situation which at first sight appears contradict
42、ory. On the one hand, it would seem that in the course of a myth anything is likely to happen. There is no logic, no continuity. Any characteristic can be attributed to any subject; every conceivable relation can be found. With myth, everything becomes possible. But on the other hand, this apparent
43、arbitrariness is belied by the astounding similarity between myths collected in widely different regions. Therefore the problem: if the content of a myth is contingent, how are we going to explain the fact that myths throughout the world are so similar? It is precisely this awareness of a basic anti
44、nomy pertaining to the nature of myth that may lead us toward its solution. For the contradiction which we face is very similar to that which in earlier times brought considerable worry to the first philosophers concerned with linguistic problems; linguistics could only begin to evolve as a science
45、after this contradiction had been overcome. Ancient philosophers reasoned about language the way we do about mythology. On the one hand, they did notice that in a given language certain sequences of sounds were associated with definite meanings, and they earnestly aimed at discovering a reason for t
46、he linkage between those sounds and that meaning. Their attempt, however, was thwarted from the very beginning by the fact that the same sounds were equallypresent in other languages although the meaning they conveyed was entirely different. The contradiction was surmounted only by the discovery tha
47、t it is the combination of sounds, not the sounds themselves, which provides the significant data. To invite the mythologist to compare his precarious situation with that of the linguist in the pre-scientific stage is not enough. As a matter of fact we may thus be led only from one difficulty to ano
48、ther. There is a very good reason why myth cannot simply be treated as language if its specific problems are to be solved; myth is language; to be known, myth has to be told; it is a part of human speech. In order to preserve its specificity we must be able to show that it is both the same things as
49、 language. And also something different from it. Here, too, the past experience of linguists may help us. For language itself can be analyzed into things which are at the same time similar and yet different. This is precisely what is expressed in Saussures distinction between langue and parole, one being the structural side of language, the other the statistical aspect of it, langue belonging to a reversible time, parole being nonreversible. If those two levels already e
