1、北京师范大学考博英语模拟试卷 2及答案与解析 一、 Reading Comprehension 0 Japanese firms have achieved the highest levels of manufacturing efficiency in the world automobile industry. Some observers of Japan have assumed that Japanese firms use the same manufacturing equipment and techniques as United States firms but have
2、 benefited from the unique characteristics of Japanese employees and the Japanese culture. However, if this were true, then one would expect Japanese auto plants in the United States to perform no better than factories run by United States companies. This is not the case; Japanese-run automobile pla
3、nts located in the United States and staffed by local workers have demonstrated higher levels of productivity when compared with factories owned by United States companies. Other observers link high Japanese productivity to higher levels of capital investment per worker. But a historical perspective
4、 leads to a different conclusion. When the two top Japanese automobile makers matched and then doubled United States productivity levels in the mid-sixties, capital investment per employee was comparable to that of United States firms. Furthermore, by the late seventies, the amount of fixed assets r
5、equired to produce one vehicle was roughly equivalent in Japan and in the United States. Since capital investment was not higher in Japan, it had to be other factors that led to higher productivity. A more fruitful explanation may lie with Japanese production techniques. Japanese automobile producer
6、s did not simply implement conventional processes more effectively: they made critical changes in United States procedures. For instance, the mass-production philosophy of United States automakers encouraged the production of huge lots of cars in order to utilize fully expensive, component-specific
7、equipment and to occupy fully workers who have been trained to execute one operation efficiently. Japanese automakers chose to make small-lot production feasible by introducing several departures from United States practices, including the use of flexible equipment that could be altered easily to do
8、 several different production tasks and the training of workers in multiple jobs. Automakers could schedule the production of different components or models on single machines, thereby eliminating the need to store the buffer stocks of extra components that result when specialized equipment and work
9、ers are kept constantly active. 1 The primary purpose of the passage is to_. （ A） present the major steps of a process （ B） clarify an ambiguity （ C） chronicle a dispute （ D） correct misconceptions 2 The author suggests that if the observers of Japan were correct, which of the following would be the
10、 case? （ A） The equipment used in Japanese automobile plants would be different from the equipment used in United States plants. （ B） Japanese workers would be trained to do several different production jobs. （ C） Culture would not have an influence on the productivity levels of workers. （ D） The pr
11、oduction levels of Japanese-run plants located in the United States would be equal to those of plants run by United States companies. 3 Which of the following statements concerning the productivity levels of automakers can be inferred from the passage? （ A） Prior to the 1960s, the productivity level
12、s of the top Japanese automakers were exceeded by those of United States automakers. （ B） The culture of a country has a large effect on the productivity levels of its automakers. （ C） During the late 1970s and early 1980s, productivity levels were comparable in Japan and the United States. （ D） The
13、 greater the number of cars that are produced in a single lot, the higher a plants productivity level. 4 According to the passage, which of the following statements is true of Japanese automobile workers? （ A） Their productivity levels did not equal those of United States automobile workers until th
14、e late seventies. （ B） Their high efficiency levels are a direct result of cultural influences. （ C） They operate component-specific machinery. （ D） They are trained to do more than one job. 5 Which of the following best describes the organization of the first paragraph? （ A） A thesis is presented a
15、nd supporting examples are provided. （ B） Opposing views are presented, classified, and then reconciled. （ C） A fact is stated, and an explanation is advanced and then refuted. （ D） A theory is proposed, considered, and then amended. 6 It can be inferred from the passage that one problem associated
16、with the production of huge lots of cars is which of the following? （ A） The need to manufacture flexible machinery and equipment. （ B） The need to store extra components not required for immediate use. （ C） The need for expensive training programs for workers, which emphasize the development of fac
17、ility in several production jobs. （ D） The need to alter conventional mass-production processes. 7 With which of the following predictive statement regarding Japanese automakers would the author most likely agree? （ A） The efficiency levels of the Japanese automakers will decline if they become less
18、 flexible in their approach to production. （ B） Japanese automakers productivity levels double during the late 1990s. （ C） United States automakers will originate new production processes before Japanese automakers do. （ D） Japanese automakers will hire fewer workers than will United States automake
19、rs because each worker is required to perform several jobs. 7 Milankovitch proposed in the early twentieth century that the ice ages were caused by variations in the Earths orbit around the Sun. For some time this theory was considered untestable, largely because there was no sufficiently precise ch
20、ronology of the ice ages with which the orbital variations could be matched. To establish such a chronology it is necessary to determine the relative amounts of land ice that existed at various times in the Earths past. A recent discovery makes such a determination possible: relative land-ice volume
21、 for a given period can be deduced from the ratio of two oxygen isotopes, 16 and 18, found in ocean sediments. Almost all the oxygen in water is oxygen 16, but a few molecules out of every thousand incorporate the heavier isotope 18. When an ice age begins, the continental ice sheets grow, steadily
22、reducing the amount of water evaporated from the ocean that will eventually return to it. Because heavier isotopes tend to be left behind when water evaporates from the ocean surfaces, the remaining ocean water becomes progressively enriched in oxygen 18. The degree of enrichment can be determined b
23、y analyzing ocean sediments of the period, because these sediments are composed of calcium carbonate shells of marine organisms, shells that were constructed with oxygen atoms drawn from the surrounding ocean. The higher the ratio of oxygen 18 to oxygen 16 in a sedimentary specimen, the more land ic
24、e there was when the sediment was laid down. chronology 3(CC) 8 In the passage, the author is primarily interested in_. （ A） suggesting an alternative to an outdated research method （ B） introducing a new research method that calls an accepted theory into question （ C） emphasizing the instability of
25、 data gathered from the application of a new scientific method （ D） presenting a theory and describing a new method to test that theory 9 The author of the passage would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements about the Milankovitch theory? （ A） It is the only possible explana
26、tion for the ice ages. （ B） It is too limited to provide a plausible explanation for the ice ages, despite recent research findings. （ C） It cannot be tested and confirmed until further research on volcanic activity is done. （ D） It is one plausible explanation, though not the only one, for the ice
27、ages. 10 It can be inferred from the passage that the isotope record taken from ocean sediments would be less useful to researchers if which of the following was true? （ A） It indicated that lighter isotopes of oxygen predominated at certain times. （ B） It had far more gaps in its sequence than the
28、record taken from rocks on land. （ C） It indicated that climate shifts did not occur every 100, 000 years. （ D） It indicated that the ratios of oxygen 16 and oxygen 18 in ocean water were not consistent with those found in fresh water. 11 According to the passage, which of the following is true of t
29、he ratios of oxygen isotopes in ocean sediments? （ A） They indicate that sediments found during an ice age contain more calcium carbonate than sediments formed at other times. （ B） They are less reliable than the evidence from rocks on land in determining the volume of land ice. （ C） They can be use
30、d to deduce the relative volume of land ice that was present when the sediment was laid down. （ D） They are more unpredictable during an ice age than in other climatic conditions. 12 It can be inferred from the passage that precipitation formed from evaporated ocean water has_. （ A） the same isotopi
31、c ratio as ocean water （ B） less oxygen 18 than does ocean water （ C） less oxygen 18 than has the ice contained in continental ice sheets （ D） a different isotopic composition than has precipitation formed from water on land 13 According to the passage, which of the following is(are)true of the ice
32、ages? I . The last ice age occurred about 25, 000 years ago. II. Ice ages have lasted about 10, 000 years for at least the last several hundred thousand years. III. Ice ages have occurred about every 100, 000 years for at least the last several hundred thousand years. （ A） I only （ B） II only （ C） I
33、II only （ D） I , II and III 14 It can be inferred from the passage that calcium carbonate shells_. （ A） are not as susceptible to deterioration as rocks （ B） are less common in sediments formed during an ice age （ C） are found only in areas that were once covered by land ice （ D） reflect the isotopi
34、c composition of the water at the time the shells were formed 14 Virtually everything astronomers known about objects outside the solar system is based on the detection of photons quanta of electromagnetic radiation. Yet mere is another form of radiation that permeates the universe: neutrinos. With(
35、as its name implies)no electric charge, and negligible mass, the neutrino interacts with other particles so rarely that a neutrino can cross the entire universe, even traversing substantial aggregations of matter, without being absorbed or even deflected. Neutrinos can thus escape from regions of sp
36、ace where light and other kinds of electromagnetic radiation are blocked by matter. Furthermore, neutrinos carry with them information about the site and circumstances of their production: therefore, the detection of cosmic neutrinos could provide new information about a wide variety of cosmic pheno
37、mena and about the history of the universe. But how can scientists detect a particle that interacts so infrequently with other matter? Twenty-five years passed between Paulis hypothesis that the neutrino existed and its actual detection: since then virtually all research with neutrinos has been with
38、 neutrinos created artificially in large particle accelerators and studied under neutrino microscopes. But a neutrino telescope, capable of detecting cosmic neutrinos, is difficult to construct. No apparatus can detect neutrinos unless it is extremely massive, because great mass is synonymous with h
39、uge numbers of nucleons(neutrons and protons), and the more massive the detector, the greater the probability of one of its nucleons reacting with a neutrino. In addition, the apparatus must be sufficiently shielded from the interfering effects of other particles. Fortunately, a group of astrophysic
40、ists has proposed a means of detecting cosmic neutrinos by harnessing the mass of the ocean. Named DUMAND, for Deep Underwater Muon and Neutrino Detector, the project calls for placing an array of light sensors at a depth of five kilometers under the ocean surface. The detecting medium is the seawat
41、er itself: when a neutrino interacts with a particle in an atom of seawater, the result is a cascade of electrically charged particles and a flash of light that can be detected by the sensors. The five kilometers of seawater above the sensors will shield them from the interfering effects of other hi
42、gh-energy particles raining down through the atmosphere. The strongest motivation for the DUMAND project is that it will exploit an important source of information about the universe. The extension of astronomy from visible light to radio waves to x-rays and gamma rays never failed to lead to the di
43、scovery of unusual objects such as radio galaxies, quasars, and pulsars. Each of these discoveries came as a surprise. Neutrino astronomy will doubtless bring its own share of surprises. 15 Which of the following titles best summarizes the passage as a whole? （ A） At the Threshold of Neutrino Astron
44、omy （ B） Neutrinos and the History of the Universe （ C） The Creation and Study of Neutrinos （ D） The DUMAND System and How It Works 16 According to the passage, the primary use of the apparatus would be to_. （ A） increase the mass of a neutrino （ B） interpret the information neutrinos carry with the
45、m （ C） study the internal structure of a neutrino （ D） detect the presence of cosmic neutrinos 17 The neutrinos are hard to detect most probably because of_. （ A） their ability to escape from different regions of space （ B） their inability to penetrate dense matter （ C） the similarity of their struc
46、ture to that of nucleons （ D） the infrequency of their interaction with other matter 18 The ocean may be used to detect neutrinos for the following reasons EXCEPT that_. （ A） it can provide massive nucleons （ B） it is like a huge detecting apparatus （ C） it enables neutrinos to move more actively （
47、D） it can keep away the interference of other particles 19 In the last paragraph, the author describes the development of astronomy in order to_. （ A） suggest that the potential findings of neutrino astronomy can be seen as part of a series of astronomical successes （ B） illustrate the role of surpr
48、ise in scientific discovery （ C） demonstrate the effectiveness of the DUMAND apparatus in detecting neutrinos （ D） name some cosmic phenomena that neutrino astronomy will illuminate 20 The passage states that interactions between neutrinos and other matter are_. （ A） rare （ B） artificial （ C） undete
49、ctable （ D） unpredictable 21 With which of the following statements regarding neutrino astronomy would the author be most likely to agree? （ A） Neutrino astronomy will supersede all present forms of astronomy. （ B） Neutrino astronomy will be abandoned if the DUMAND project fails. （ C） Neutrino astronomy can be expected to lead to major breakthroughs in astronomy. （ D） Neutrino astronomy will disclose phenomena that will be more surprising than past discoveries. 21 Among the great cities of the world, Kolkata(formerly spelt as Calcut
