1、同济大学考博英语模拟试卷 16及答案与解析 一、 Reading Comprehension 0 There are over 6,000 different computer and online games in the world now. A segment of them are considered to be both educational and harmlessly entertaining. One such game teaches geography and another trains pilots. Others train the player in logic
2、al thinking and literate, which is more important in this technology-driven era. But the dark side of the computer games has become more and more obvious. “A segment of games features anti-social themes of violence,sex and crude language,“says David Walsh,president of the National Institute on Media
3、 and Family. “Unfortunately. Its a segment that seems particularly popular with kids aged from eight to fifteen.“ One study showed that almost 90 percent of the computer and online games young people preferred contained violence. The investigators said: “There are not just games anymore. These are l
4、eaning machines. Were teaching kids in the most incredible manner what its like to pull the trigger. What they are not learning are the real-life consequences.“ They also said “The new and more sophisticated games are even worse,because they have better graphics and allow the player to participate i
5、n even more realistic violent acts.“ In the game Carmageddon.for example,the player will have driven over and killed up to 33,000 people by the time all levels are compelled. A description of the outcome of the game says:“Your victims not only squish under your tires and splatter blood on the windsh
6、ield,they also get on their knees and beg for mercy,or commit suicide. If you like ,you can also dismember them.“ Is all this simulated violence harmful? Approximately 3,000 different studies have been conducted on this subject. Many have suggested that there is a connection between violence in game
7、s and increased aggressiveness in the players. Some specialists downplay the influence of the games,saying that other factors must be taken into consideration,such as the possibility that kids who already have violent tendencies are choosing such games. But could it be that violent games still play
8、a contributing role? It seems unrealistic to insist that people are not influenced by what they see. If that were true,why would the commercial world spend billions of dollars annually for television advertising? 1 Which of the following computer games are NOT mentioned as educational and harmlessly
9、 entertaining? （ A） Those that teach how to fly an airplane （ B） Those that teach the features of the earth （ C） Those that help people use computer language （ D） Those that teach computer technology 2 According to the investigators,_. （ A） the new and more sophisticated games allow the players to t
10、ake parting real violent acts （ B） the new and more sophisticated games teach the players how to kill other people （ C） most computer and online games male the players forget the real life results （ D） most computer and online games may cultivate young people with bad manners 3 It can be inferred fr
11、om the passage that_. （ A） more and more young people enjoy cruel computer games （ B） it is hard to find evidence of a link between violence and computer games （ C） there are now more incidents of violence because of computer games （ D） simulated violence in computer games is different from real vio
12、lence 4 The author uses “television advertising“ as an example to show that_. （ A） the commercial world dare contributing to the increased violence in real fife （ B） computer and online games are not the only cause of increased violence in real life （ C） there is little link between computer games a
13、nd increased violence in real life （ D） other factors must be considered as possible causes of violence in real life 4 The collapse of the Earths magnetic field-which guards the planet and guides many of its creatures-appears to have started about 150 years ago,the New York Times reported last week.
14、 The fields strength has decreased by 10 or 15 percent so far and this has increased the debate over whether it signals a reversal of the planets lines of magnetic force. During a reversal,the main field weakens,almost vanishes,and reappears with opposite polarity(极 ). The transition would take thou
15、sands of years. Once completed,compass needles that had pointed north would point south. A reversal could cause problems for both man and animals. Birds,fish,animals that rely on the magnetic field for navigation would find migration confusing. But experts said the effects would not be a big disaste
16、r.despite claims of doom and vague evidence of links between past field reversals and species extinctions. Although a total transition may be hundreds or thousands of years away,the rapid decline in magnetic strength is already affecting satellites. Last month, the European Space Agency approved the
17、 worlds largest effort at tracking the fields shifts. A group of now satellites calfed Swarm are to monitor the collapsing field with far greater precision. “We want to get some idea of how this would evolve in the near future,just like people trying to predict the weather,“said Gauthier Hulot ,a Fr
18、ench geophysicist working on the satellite plan. “Im personally quite convinced we should be able to work out the first predictions by the end of the mission.“ No matter what the new findings,the public has no reason to panic, Even if a transition is coming on its way.it might take 2,000 years to ma
19、ture. The last one took place 780,000 years ago,when early humans were learning how to make stone tools. Deep inside the Earth flow hot currents of melted iron. This mechanical energy creates electromagnetism. This, process is known as the geophysical generator. In a cars generator,the same principl
20、e turns mechanical energy into electricity. No one knows preciaely why the field periodically reverses. But scientists say the responsibility probably lies with changes in the with changes in the disorderly flows of melted iron,which they see as similar to the gases that make up the clouds of Jupite
21、r. 5 According to the passage,the Earths magnetic field has （ A） misguided many a man and animals （ B） begun to Change to its opposite direction （ C） caused the changes on the polarities （ D） been weakening its strength for a long time 6 During the transition of the Earths magnetic fietd,_. （ A） com
22、pass will become useless （ B） man and animals will be confused in directions （ C） the magnetic strength of the Earth will disappear （ D） the magnetic strength of the Earth will be stronger 7 The author says “.the public has no reason to panic “ because_. （ A） the transition is still thousands of yea
23、rs from now （ B） the transition can be precisely predicted by scientists （ C） the process of the transition will take a very long time to finish （ D） the new transition wiflcome 780,000 years later 8 The cause of the transition of the Earths magnetic field comes from_. （ A） the movement deep inside
24、the Earth （ B） the periodically reverses of the Earth （ C） the force coming from outer space （ D） the mechanical movement of the Earth 8 My mothers parents came from Hungary, but my grandfather could trace his origin to Germany and also he was educated in Germany. Although he was able to hold a conv
25、ersation in nine languages, he was most comfortable in German. Every morning, before going to his office, he read tile German language newspaper, which was American owned and published in New York. My grandfather was the only one in his family to come to the United States with his wife and children
26、. He still had relatives living in Europe. When the first world war broke out, he lamented the fact if my uncle, his, only son had to go, it would be cousin fighting against cousin. In the early days of the war, my grandmother begged him to stop taking the German newspaper and to take an English lan
27、guage newspaper, instead. He scoffed at the idea, explain! g that the fact it was in German did not make it a German newspaper, but only an American newspaper, printed in German. But my grandmother insisted, for fear that the neighbors may see him read it and think he was German. So, he finally gave
28、 up tile German newspaper. One,day, the inevitable happened and my uncle Milton received notice to join the army, My grandparents were very upset, but my mother, his little sister, was excited. Now she could boast about her soldier brother going off to war. She was ten years old at the time, and my
29、uncle, realizing how he was regarded by his little sister and her friends, went,out and bought them all service pins, which meant that they had a loved one in the service. All the little girls were delighted. When the day came for him to leave, his whole regiment, in their uniforms, left together fo
30、rm the same train station. There was a band playing and my mother and her friends came to see him off. Each one wore her service pin and waved a small American flag, cheering the boys, as they left. The moment came and the soldiers, all very young, none of whom had any training, but who had neverthe
31、less all been issued uniforms, boarded thetrain, The band played and the crowd, cheered. The train groaned as if it knew the destiny to which it was taking its passengers but it soon began to move. Still cheering and waving their lags, the band still playing, the train slowly departed the station. I
32、t had gone about a thousand yards when it suddenly ground to a halt. The band stopped playing, the crowd stopped cheering. Everyone gazed in wonder as the train slowly backed up and returned to the station, it seemed an eternity until the doors opened and the men started to file out. Someone shouted
33、, “Its the armistice. The war is over.“ For a moment, nobody moved, but then the people heard someone bark orders at the soldiers. The men lined up and formed into two lines. They walked down the steps and, with the band playing behind, paraded down the street, as returning heroes, to be welcomed ho
34、me by the assembled crowd. The next day my uncle returned to his job, and my grandfather resumed reading the German newspaper, which he read until the day be died. 9 Where was the narrators family when this story took place? （ A） In Germ any （ B） In Hungary （ C） In the United States （ D） In New York
35、 10 His grandfather_. （ A） could not speak and read English well enough （ B） knew nine languages equally well （ C） knew a number of languages, but felt more kin to German （ D） loved German best because it made him think of home 11 His grandmother did not want her husband to buy and read newspapers i
36、n German, because_. （ A） it was war time and Germans were their enemy （ B） the neighbors would mistake them as pro-German （ C） it was easier to get newspapers in English in America （ D） nobody else read newspapers in German during the war time 12 The narrators mother wanted her brother to go to figh
37、t in the war, because_. （ A） like everybody else at the war time, she was very patriotic （ B） she hated the war and the Germans very much （ C） all her friends bad relatives in war and she wanted to be like them （ D） she liked to have a brother she could think if as a hero 12 I recall how annoying it
38、 was years ago when smoking everywhere was legal in California. Many complained about the restrictions when they arrived, but I didnt, because I seriously hated watching shoppers smoking through the tomatoes and lettuce in the vegetable section of the store. People forget how sickening that used to
39、be, especially with the butts all over the grocery store floor. Tossing a burning smoke on the ground, stomping it with your foot, and leaving it to be swept up by somebody else later was somehow OK. But laws were passed, and you could finally shop without having to buy broccoli while gagging on a n
40、earby Winston. Grocery stores are now filled with drips talking on cell phones about their sisters. I believe these obnoxious chatterers are all rebellious smokers getting back at us. This is worse than smoking! How did these phones come to dominate our lives like this, and does anyone even try to R
41、esist? Cell phones now rule the worlds collective unconscious in untold ways. What astonishes me about all this is the sociology that has crept up on us. Why do we have this incessant need to chat on cell phones all day long? Test out this thesis. Make a note of a friend who calls you from both a ce
42、ll phone and a land-line at different times. Time the calls and note the content. The cell phone calls will always be longer and more inane without exceptions! 13 In the second sentence of the first paragraph, the pronoun “they“ in “when they arrive“ refers to_. （ A） restrictions （ B） shoppers （ C）
43、complaints （ D） people 14 In the third paragraph, “gagging on a nearby Winston“ means_. （ A） near the broccoli counter in the shop was the counter that sold cigarettes （ B） while buying vegetables, one very often inhaled cigarette smoke in the shop （ C） there were many people in the shop who were sm
44、oking Winston brand cigarettes （ D） years ago, the majority of the shoppers smoked when buying things 15 According to the 4th paragraph, which of the following statements is TRUE? （ A） People like to talk in grocery stores endlessly about their sisters and family matters. （ B） The obnoxious users of
45、 cell phone in public places remind us of the smokers in grocery stores years ago. （ C） Smokers were angry when laws were passed to forbid smoking in groceries, and they now talked loudly in the shops on cell phone to rebel and revenge. （ D） People who now talk incessantly on cell phone in grocery s
46、tores are those who liked to smoke there before. 16 What do you think is the waters purpose in writing this passage? （ A） To tell the reader that the use of cell phones is as bad as smoking. （ B） To call for a ban on the use of cell phones in the public. （ C） To emphasize the immoral effect of the c
47、ell phone on our consciousness. （ D） To draw public attention to the problems caused by the use of cell phones. 16 Since 1000 A.D., around 30 billion people have been brn on our planet. The vast majority have come and gone unknown to all but their friends and family. A few have left some trace on hi
48、story: a discovery made, perhaps, or a record broken. Of those, fewer still are remembered long after their death. Yet of ali the people who have lived their lives during the last 1,000 years, just 38 have achieved the status of “Millennial Minds“ - thats barely one in a billion. Those whose lives F
49、ocus has chronicled have thus become members of possibly the most exclusive list of all time. And choosing who should be included was not easy. From the beginning, the single most important criterion was that the “Millennial Minds“ are those who did more than merely achieve greatness in their own time, or in one field. Thus mere winners of Nobel Prizes had no automatic right to inclusion, nor artists who gained fame in their own era, but whose reputation has faded with changing fashion. The achievements of the genuin
