1、考博英语模拟试卷 139及答案与解析 一、 Reading Comprehension 0 Is language, like food, a basic human need without which a child at a critical period of life can be starved and damaged? Judging from the drastic experiment of Frederick H in the thirteenth century, it may be. Hoping to discover what language a child wo
2、uld speak if he heard no mother tongue, he told the nurses to keep silent. All the infants died before the first year. But clearly there was more than lack of language here. What was missing was good mothering. Without good mothering, in the first year of life especially, the capacity to survive is
3、seriously affected. Today no such severe lack exists as that ordered by Frederick. Nevertheless, some children are still backward in speaking. Most often the reason for this is that the mother is insensitive to the signals of the infant, whose brain is programmed to learn language rapidly. If these
4、sensitive periods are neglected, the ideal time for acquiring skills passes and they might never be learned so easily again. A bird learns to sing and to fly rapidly at the right time, but the process is slow and hard once the critical stage has passed. Experts suggest that speech stages are reached
5、 in a fixed sequence and at a constant age, but there are cases where speech has started late in a child who eventually turns out to be of high IQ. At twelve weeks a baby smiles and makes vowel-like sounds; at twelve months he can speak simple words and understand simple commands; at twelve months h
6、e can speak simple words and understand simple commands; at eighteen months he has a vocabulary of three to fifty words. At three he knows about 1,000 words which be can put into sentences, and at four his language differs from that of his parents in style rather than grammar. Recent evidence sugges
7、ts that an infant is born with the capacity to speak. What is special about mans brain, compared with that of the monkey, is the complex system which enables a child to connect the sight and feel of, say, a toy-bear with the sound pattern “toy-bear“. And even more incredible is the young brains abil
8、ity to pick out an order in language from the mixture of sound around him, to analyze, to combine and recombine the parts of a language in new ways. But speech has to be induced, and this depends on interaction between the mother and the child, where the mother recognizes the signals in the childs b
9、abbling, grasping and smiling, and responds to them. Insensitivity of the mother to these signals dulls the interaction because the child gets discouraged and sends out only the obvious signals. Sensitivity to the childs nonverbal signals is essential to the growth and development of language. 1 The
10、 purpose of Frederick s experiment was _. （ A） to prove that children are born with the ability to speak （ B） to discover what language a child would speak without hearing any human speech （ C） to find out what role careful nursing would play in teaching a child to speak （ D） to prove that a child c
11、ould be damaged without learning a language 2 The reason some children are backward in speaking is most probably that _. （ A） they are incapable of learning language rapidly （ B） they are exposed to too much language at once （ C） their mothers respond inadequately to their attempts to speak （ D） the
12、ir mothers are not intelligent enough to help them 3 What is exceptionally remarkable about a child is that _. （ A） he is born with the capacity to speak （ B） he has a brain more complex than an animals （ C） he can produce his own sentences （ D） he owes his speech ability to good nursing 4 Which of
13、the following can NOT be inferred from the passage? （ A） The faculty of speech is inborn in man. （ B） Encouragement is anything but essential to a child in language learning. （ C） The childs brain is highly selective. （ D） Most children learn their language in definite stages. 5 If a child starts to
14、 speak later than others, he will _ in future. （ A） have a high IQ （ B） be less intelligent （ C） be insensitive to verbal signals （ D） not necessarily be backward 5 Elderly people respond best to a calm and unhurried environment. This is not always easy to provide as their behavior can sometimes be
15、irritating, ff they got excited or upset then they may become more confused and more difficult to look after. Although sometimes it can be extremely difficult, it is best to be patient and not get upset yourself. You should always encourage old people to do as much as possible for themselves but be
16、ready to lend a helping hand when necessary. Failing memory makes it difficult for the person to recall all the basic kinds of information we take for granted. The obvious way to help in this situation is to supply the information that is missing and help them make sense of what is going on. You mus
17、t use every opportunity to provide information but remember to keep it simple and straightforward. “Good morning, Mum. This is Fiona, your daughter. It is eight oclock, so if you get up now, we can have breakfast downstairs.“ When the elderly person makes confused statements e.g. about going out to
18、his or her old employment or visiting a dead relative, correct in a calm matter-of-fact fashion: “You dont work in the office any more. You are retired now. Will you come and help me with the dishes?“ We rely heavily on the information provided by signposts, clocks, calendars and newspapers. These a
19、ssist us to organize and direct our behavior. Confused old people need these aids all the time to compensate for their poor memory. Encourage them to use reminder beards or diaries for important coming events and label the contents of different cupboards and drawers. Many other aids such as informat
20、ion cards, old photos, scrapbooks, addresses or shopping lists could help in individual case. 6 The main subject of the passage about elderly people is _. （ A） their general care and welfare （ B） promoting their physical and mental health （ C） how they can be helped to look after themselves as far a
21、s possible （ D） assisting people with physical problems to live a normal life 7 The passage gives help for one responsible for an elderly forgetful person by _. （ A） removing some of his or her worries about the job （ B） suggesting sensible things to do in these circumstances （ C） providing ideas th
22、at help in recovering the lost memory （ D） explaining the causes of loss of memory 8 By “in a calm matter-of-fact fashion“ the author most probably means _. （ A） plainly and sensibly （ B） by a detailed explanation of the mistakes （ C） by showing sympathy and understanding （ D） by ignoring them and t
23、alking about something else 9 Visual aids can give practical help to elderly people by _. （ A） bringing back to mind various kinds of useful information （ B） informing them about what has to be done next （ C） helping them to revive old memories （ D） clearing up their mistakes and confusion 10 Which
24、is not mentioned in this passage as an aid to elderly people? （ A） Providing a calm and unhurried environment. （ B） Giving encouragement. （ C） Providing simple and straightforward information. （ D） Providing psychotherapy. 10 Heres my simple test for a product of todays technology: I go to the books
25、tore and check the shelves for remedial books. The more books, the more my suspicions are raised. If computers and computer programs supposedly are getting easier to use, why are so many companies still making a nice living publishing books on how to use them? Computers manipulate information, but i
26、nformation is invisible. Theres nothing to see or touch. The programmer decides what you see on the screen. Computers dont have knobs like old radios. They dont have buttons, not real buttons. Instead, more and more programs display pictures of buttons, moving even further into abstraction and arbit
27、rariness. I like computers, but I hope they will disappear, that they will seem as strange to our descendents as the technologies of our grandparents appear to us. Todays computers are indeed getting easier to use, but look where they started: so difficult that almost any improvement was welcome. Co
28、mputers have the power to allow people within a company, across a nation or even around the world to work together. But this power will be wasted if tomorrows computers arent designed around the needs and capabilities of the human beings who must use them-a people centered philosophy, in other words
29、. That means retooling computers to mesh with human strengths-observing, communication and innovating-instead of asking people to conform to the unnatural behavior computers demand. That just leads to error. Many of todays machines try to do too much. When a complicated word processor attempts to do
30、uble as a desk-top publishing program or a kitchen appliance comes with half a dozen attachments, the product is bound to be clumsy and burdensome. My favorite example of a technological product on just the fight scale is an electronic dictionary. It can be made smaller, lighter and far easier to us
31、e than a print version, not only giving meanings but even pronouncing the words. Todays electronic dictionaries, with their tiny keys and barely readable displays, are primitive but theyre on the fight track. We would no longer have to learn the arbitrary ways of the computer. We could simply learn
32、the tools of our trade-sketchpads, spreadsheets and schedules. How wonderful it would be to ignore the capricious nature of technology-and get on with our work. 11 According to the author, companies make a living easily by publishing books on how to use computers because _. （ A） very few companies a
33、re publishing such books （ B） more and more people are learning computers （ C） computers and computer programs are not easy to learn （ D） books on how to use computers can be sold at a high price 12 According to the passage, todays computers are not so easy to use _. （ A） unless they are designed wi
34、th less buttons （ B） even if they have improved a lot （ C） even if their control is very flexible （ D） unless they can show more visible information 13 The author wrote paragraph 3 in order to illustrate the idea that _. （ A） computers should be designed to adjust to the needs of human beings （ B） e
35、rrors result in peoples conformity to computers unnatural behavior （ C） computers should imitate humans ability to observe, communicate and innovate （ D） tomorrows computers will shorten the distance for peoples communication 14 According to the author, if a complicated word processor is designed li
36、ke a desk-top publishing program, _. （ A） it would be more popular among the users with its multi-programs （ B） people would find it hard to manage because of its excessive functions （ C） it would give not only meanings but pronunciations of the words as well （ D） its keys would be consequently larg
37、er and words shown would be readable 15 The word “capricious“ in the last paragraph means _ according to the context. （ A） colorful and unimaginable （ B） fanciful and unpredictable （ C） difficult and incredible （ D） natural and inevitable 15 Today, we have the longest peacetime expansion in our hist
38、ory. After years and years of deficits, we now have budget surpluses for years ahead. More people have a chance to realize the American Dream than ever before. More children have a chance to realize their full potential than ever before. Weve laid a foundation to preserve our prosperity for future g
39、enerations. Now, as the budget deadline rapidly approaches this year, we face many of the same tough choices again. And once again, I think the answer is clear: To build a strong nation in the new century, we must continue to invest in our future. That means we must strengthen social security, secur
40、e and modernize medicare, and pay off the national debt in fifteen years, making America debt-free for the first time since 1835. And once again, it means we must invest in education, not sacrifice it. Months ago, I sent Congress a responsible budget to maintain our fiscal discipline and honor our c
41、ommitment to our Childrens education. So far the Republicans in Congress havent put forth a budget of their own. In fact, theyre so busy trying to figure Out how to pay for their irresponsible tax plan that theyre in serious danger of not meeting their obligation to finish the budget by the end of t
42、he budget year. Even worse, theyre preparing to pay for their own pet projects at the expense of our childrens education. We know now that the Republicans risky tax cut would force us to slash vital funding for education by as much as 50 percent over the next ten years. But what many people dont kno
43、w is that next year alone, the Republican plan would cut the bill that funds education by nearly 20 percent. Now, ff carried out, this plan would lead to some of the worst cuts in education in our history. More than 5,000 teachers could be laid off. Fifty thousand students could be turned away from
44、after-school and summer-school programs. More than 2 million of our poorest students in our poorest communities would have a smaller chance of success in school and in the workplaces of the future. These arent just numbers on a balance sheet; theyre vital investments in our children and our future.
45、In a time when education is our top priority, Republicans in Congress are making it their lowest priority. So let me be clear: ff the Republicans send me a bill that doesnt live up to our national commitment to education, I wont hesitate to veto it. If it undermines our efforts to hire high-quality
46、teachers to reduce class size in our public schools, I will veto it. If it fails to strengthen after-school, and summer-school programs, Ill veto it. If it underfunds college scholarship programs, I will veto it. If it sends me a bill that turns its back on our children and their future, Ill send th
47、em back to the drawing board. I wont let Congress push through a budget thats paid for at the expense of our children and our future prosperity. 16 We can infer that the audience for the speaker in the passage is _. （ A） Congress （ B） composed of common voters （ C） a group of public-school administr
48、ators （ D） a group of contributors to the Democratic Party 17 Which of the following is NOT stated or implied in this passage? （ A） Fifty-thousand students could be turned away from after-school programs. （ B） Budget deficits will increase. （ C） Education funding may be cut by 50 percent over a ten-
49、year period. （ D） The national debt may be paid off. 18 Which of the following is NOT stated or implied about education? （ A） Higher education should be reserved for the talented people. （ B） The nation should view education as an investment. （ C） Education should be the primary goal for the congressional budget. （ D） Education and national prosperity are deeply connected. 19 By using words such as irresponsible, risky, and pet projects, the speaker is obviously _
