1、同济大学考博英语模拟试卷 8及答案与解析 一、 Reading Comprehension 0 There is perhaps no other event in the natural world that is as characteristic of a season as a full chorus of spring peepers. It is not only that the voices of living things are calling once more after the long silence of winter,there is something abo
2、ut the atmosphere in which the chorus takes place that epitomizes the season. There is a certain moist smell in the air on rainy spring nights,slow mists rise from rafts of ice floating in dark marshes,everywhere on roads through wet areas the small white forms of migrating spring peepers,wood frogs
3、,green frogs,and pickerel frogs appear,and all around you the air will be filled with a high bell-like ringing,a little like a distant horse-drawn sleigh. That distant chorus is the voice of the spring peeper,a small tree frog no larger than the end of a little finger. Throughout history naturally h
4、ave referred to it as the voice of spring. In actuality you may be a long way from the pond or marsh that the peepers are calling from. The voice of spring peepers can carry as much as a mile on still spring nights,and once you learn to recognize the song,there will be nights when it is difficult to
5、 escape their incessant calling. The sound will accompany you through spring,a sort of background music to the events that will be taking place around you during the season. 1 What is the best title for this passage? （ A） Spring Comes to the Country （ B） The Voice of spring （ C） Migration of Frogs （
6、 D） A Rainy Spring Night 2 What kind of animal is a spring peeper? （ A） A wood frog （ B） A pickerel frog （ C） A tree frog （ D） A green frog 3 Which of the following is NOT mentioned by the author as a characteristic of the spring season? （ A） Animal sounds （ B） New odors （ C） Rising mists （ D） Tree
7、blossoms 4 Which of the following best describes the spring climate of the area of the country the author is describing? （ A） Cold and dry （ B） Warm and humid （ C） Cool and wet （ D） Dry and warm 5 Which of the following generalizations is supported by the passage? （ A） Each time of year has its own
8、special features. （ B） As seasons change,so do people. （ C） Tiny sounds can be of great importance. （ D） Spring is the most beloved season of all. 5 Petroleum products,such as gasoline,kerosine,home heating oil,residual fuel oil,and lubricating oils, come from one source-crude oil found below the ea
9、rths surface,as well as under large bodies of water, from a few hundred feet below the surface to as deep as 25,000 feet into the earths interior. Sometimes crude oil is secured by drilling a bole through the earth,but more dry boles are drilled than those producing oil. Pressure at the source or pu
10、mping forces crude oil to the surface. Crude oil wells flow at varying rates,from ten to thousands of barrels per hour. Petroleum products are always measured in 42-gallon barrels. Petroleum products vary greatly in physical appearance:thin,thick,transparent or opaque,but regardless, their chemical
11、composition is made up of only two elements:carbon and hydrogen,which form com-pounds called hydrocarbons. Other chemical elements found in union with the hydrocarbons are few and are classified as impurities. Trace elements are also found,but these are of such minute quantities that they are disreg
12、arded. The combination of carbon and hydrogen forms many thousands of compounds which are possible because of the various positions and joinings of these two atoms in the hydrocarbon molecule. The various petroleum products are refined from the crude oil by heating and condensing the vapors. These p
13、roducts are the so-called light oils,such as gasoline,kerosene,and distillate oil. The residue remaining after the light oils are distilled is known as heavy or residual fuel oil and is used mostly for bunting under boilers. Additional complicated refining processes rearrange the chemical structure
14、or the hydrocarbons to produce other products,some of which are used to upgrade and increase the octane (辛烷 ) rating of various types of gasoline. 6 According to the passage,all the following is true EXCEPT_. （ A） crude oil is found below land and water （ B） crude oil is always found a few hundred f
15、eet below the surface （ C） pumping and pressure force crude oil to the surface （ D） a variety of petroleum products is obtained from crude oil 7 Many thousands of hydrocarbon compounds are possible because_. （ A） the petroleum products vary greatly in physical appearance （ B） complicated refining pr
16、ocesses rearrange the chemical structure （ C） the two atoms in the molecule assume many positions （ D） the pressure needed to force it to the surface causes molecular transformation 8 Which of the following is TRUE? （ A） The various petroleum products are produced by filtration. （ B） Heating and con
17、densation produce the various products. （ C） Chemical separation is used to produce the various products. （ D） Mechanical means such as the centrifuge (离心机 ) are used to product the various products. 9 Crude oil is brought to the surface by means of_. （ A） expansion of the hydrocarbons （ B） pressure
18、 and pumping （ C） vacuum created in the drilling pipe （ D） expansion and contraction of the earths surface 10 Which of the following is NOT listed as a light oil? （ A） Distillate oil （ B） Gasoline （ C） Lubricating oil （ D） Kerosine 10 Automation refers to the introduction of electronic control and a
19、utomatic operation of productive machinery. It reduces the human factors,mental and physical,in production,and is designed to make possible the manufacture of more goods with fewer workers. The development of automation in American industry has been called the “Second Industrial Revolution“. Labors
20、concern over automation arises from uncertainty about its effects on employment,and fears of major changes in jobs. In the main,labor has taken the view that resistance to technological change is futile. In the long run,the result of automation may well be an increase in employment,since it is expec
21、ted that vast industries will grow up around manufacturing,maintaining,and repairing automation equipment. Unquestionably,however,there will be major shifts in jobs within plants and displacement of labor from one industry to another. The interest of labor lies in bringing about this transition with
22、 a minimum of inconvenience and distress to the workers involved. Also,union spokesmen emphasize that the benefit of the increased production and lower costs made possible by automation should be shared by workers in the form of higher wages,more leisure,and improved living standards. To protect the
23、 interests of their members in the era of automation,unions have adopted a number of new policies. One of these is the promotion of supplemental,unemployment benefits plans. It is emphasized that since the employer involved in SUB plan has a direct financial stake in preventing unemployment,he will
24、have a strong incentive for planning new installations so as to cause the least possible disruption in jobs and job assignments. Some unions are working for dismissal pay agreements,requiring that permanently laid off workers be paid a sum of money based on length of service. Another approach is the
25、 idea of the “improvement factor,“which calls for wage increase based on increases in productivity. It is probable,however,that labor will rely mainly on reduction in working hours in order to gain a full share in the fruits of automation. 11 We learn from paragraph 1 that automation will probably l
26、ead to_. （ A） industrial expansion （ B） an increase in employment （ C） displacement of labor from one industry to another （ D） an increase in unemployment 12 Labor has the opinion that_. （ A） all efforts must be made to prevent automation （ B） automation will cause a rise in consumer costs （ C） its
27、main interest lies in increasing all wages （ D） technological change cannot be stopped 13 What is the relation between automation and employment in the opinion of labor? （ A） Automation will definitely lead to more unemployment. （ B） From a long-term point of view automation will bring about more jo
28、bs. （ C） Automation will not cause much change in employment. （ D） Sooner or later automation will do all the work instead of man. 14 The union stresses that_. （ A） workers should also enjoy the fruits brought about by automation （ B） no workers should be fired in the development of automation （ C）
29、it is necessary to slow down the development of automation （ D） workers should be paid according to their length of service 14 Of the great variety of opinions concerning“marriage for money“,the following three are important with reference to the development of the importance of money. Marriages bas
30、ed exclusively upon economic motives have not only existed in all periods and at all stages of development,but are particularly common among primitive groups and conditions where they do not cause any offence at all. The disparagement of personal dignity that nowadays arises in every marriage that i
31、s not based on personal affection-so that a sense of decency requires the concealment of economic motives-does not exist in simpler cultures. The reason for this development is that increasing individualization makes it increasingly contradictory and discreditable to enter into purely individual rel
32、ationships for other than purely individual reasons. For nowadays the choice of a partner in marriage is no longer determined by social motives (though regard for the offspring may be considered to be such a motive),in so far as society does not insist upon the couple,s equal social status-a conditi
33、on,however,that provides a great deal of latitude and only rarely leads to conflicts between individual and social interests. In a quite undifferentiated society it may be relatively irrelevant who marries whom,irrelevant not only for the mutual relationship of the couple but also for the offspring.
34、 This is because where the constitutions,state of health,temperament,internal and external forms of life and orientations are largely the same within the group,the chance that the children will turn out well depends less upon whether the parents agree and complement each other than it does in highly
35、 differentiated society. It therefore seems quite natural and expedient that the choice of the partner should be determined by reasons other than purely individual affection. Yet personal attraction should be decisive in a highly individualized society where a harmonious relationship between two ind
36、ividuals becomes increasingly rare. The declining frequency of marriage which is to be found everywhere in highly civilized cultural cir-cum-stances is undoubtedly due,in part,to the fact that highly differentiated people in general have difficu-lty in finding a completely sympathetic complement to
37、themselves. Yet we do not possess any other crite-rion and indication for the advisability of marriage except mutual instinctive attraction. But,happiness is a purely personal matter,decided upon entirely by the couple themselves,and there would be no com-pelling reason for the official insistence o
38、n at least pretending love may be misleadingparticularly in the higher strata,whose complicated circumstances often retard the growth of the purest instinctsno matter how much other conditions may affect the final results, it remains true that,with reference to procreation,love is decidedly superior
39、 to money as a factor selection. In fact,in this respect, it is the only fight and proper thing. Marriage for money directly creates a situation of panmixiathe indiscriminate pairing regardless of individual qualitiesa condition that biology has demonstrated to be the cause of the most direct and de
40、trimental degeneration of the human species. In the case of marriage for money,the union of a couple is determined by a factor that has absolutely nothing to do with racial appropriatenessjust as the regard for money often enough keeps apart a couple who really belong togetherand it should be consid
41、ered as a factor in degeneration to the same extent to which the undoubted differentiation of individuals makes selection by personal attraction more and more important. This case too illustrates once more that the increasing individualization within society renders money increasingly unsuitable as
42、a mediator of purely individual relationships. 15 According to the text,what is said to influence matrimonial compatibility and stability in simpler cultures? （ A） Personal dignity （ B） Economic decline （ C） Monetary considerations （ D） Financial growth 16 How is the question of race in relation to
43、marriage similar to the question of money? （ A） They fuel mutual instinctual attraction. （ B） They inspire individual responsibilities. （ C） They deflect superficial relationships. （ D） They prohibit suitable marriages. 17 Panmixia is said to_. （ A） aid the selection process （ B） complement individu
44、alization （ C） inspire positive results （ D） set up biological decline 17 The concept of personal choice in relation to health behaviors is an important one. An estimated 90 percent of all illnesses may be preventable if individuals would make sound personal health choices based upon current medical
45、 knowledge. We all enjoy our freedom of choice and do not like to see it re-stricted when it is within the legal and moral boundaries of society. The structure of American society al-lows us to make almost all our own personal decisions that may concern our health. If we so desire, we can smoke, dri
46、nk excessively, refuse to wear seat belts, eat whatever foods we want, and live a com-pletely sedentary life-style without any exercise. The freedom to make such personal decisions is a funda-mental aspect of our society, although the wisdom of these decisions can be questioned. Personal choic-es re
47、lative to health often cause a difficulty. As one example, a teenager may know the facts relative to smoking cigarettes and health but may be pressured by friends into believing it is the socially accepted thing to do. A multitude of factors, both inherited and environmental, influence the developme
48、nt of health-related behaviors, and it is beyond the scope of this text to discuss all these factors as they may affect any given individual. However, the decision to adopt a particular health-related behavior is usually one of personal choice. There are healthy choices and there are unhealthy choic
49、es. In discussing the morals of personal choice, Fries and Crapo draw a comparison. They suggest that to knowingly give oneself over to a behavior that has a statistical probability of shortening life is similar to attempting suicide. Thus, for those individuals who are interested in preserving both the quality and quantity of life, personal health choices should reflect those behaviors that are associated with a statistical probability of increased vitality and longevity. 18 The concept of personal choice concerning health is important because_.
