1、考博英语模拟试卷 48及答案与解析 一、 Reading Comprehension 0 There is a new type of small advertisement becoming increasingly common in newspaper classified columns. It is sometimes placed among “situations vacant“ , although it does not offer anyone a job; and sometimes it appears among “situations wanted“, althou
2、gh it is not placed by someone looking for a job either. What it does is to offer help in applying for a job. “Contact us before writing application“, or “Make use of our long experience in preparing your curriculum vitae, or job history“, is how it is usually expressed. The growth and apparent succ
3、ess of such a specialized service is, of course, a reflection on rite current high levels of unemployment. It is also an indication of growing importance of the curriculum vitae (or job history), with the suggestion that it may now qualify as an art form in its own right. There was a time when job s
4、eekers simply wrote letters of application. “Just put down your name, address, age and whether you have passed any exams“, was about the average level of advice offered to young people applying for their first jobs when they left school. The letter was really just for openers, it was explained. Ever
5、ything else could and should be saved for the interview. And in those days of full employment the technique worked. The letter proved that you could write and were available for work. Your eager face and intelligent replies did the rest. Later, as you moved up the ladder, something slightly more sop
6、histicated was called for. The advice then was to put something in the letter which would distinguish you from the rest. It might be the aggressive approach. “Your search is over. I am the person you are looking for,“ was a widely used trick that occasionally succeeded. Or it might be some special f
7、eature specially designed for the job in view. There is no doubt, however, that it is the increasing number of applicants with university education at all points in the process of engaging staff that has led to the greater importance of the curriculum vitae. 1 The new type of advertisement which is
8、appearing in newspaper columns _. （ A） informs job hunters of the opportunities available （ B） promises useful advice to those looking for employment （ C） divides available jobs into various types （ D） informs employers that people are available for work 2 Nowadays a demand for this specialized type
9、 of service has been created because _. （ A） there is lack of jobs available for artistic people （ B） there are so many top-level jobs available （ C） there are so many people out of work （ D） the job history is considered to be a work of art 3 In the past it was expected that first-job hunters would
10、 _. （ A） write an initial letter giving their life history （ B） pass some exams before applying for a job （ C） have no qualifications other than being able to read and write （ D） keep any detailed information until they obtained an interview 4 Later, as one went on to apply more important jobs, one
11、was advised to include in the letter_. （ A） something that would attract attention to one s application （ B） a personal opinion about the organization one was trying to join （ C） something that would offend the person reading it （ D） a lie that one could easily get with telling 5 The job history has
12、 become such an important document because _. （ A） there has been a decrease in the number of jobs advertised （ B） there has been an increase in the number of “qualified“ job hunters （ C） jobs are becoming much more complicated nowadays （ D） the other processes of applying for jobs are more complica
13、ted 5 Pity those who aspire to put the initials PhD after their names. After 16 years of closely supervised education, prospective doctors of philosophy are left more or less alone to write the equivalent of a large book. Most social-science postgraduates have still not completed their theses by the
14、 time their grant runs out after three years. “They must then get a job and finish in their spare time, which can often take a further three years. By then, most new doctors are sick to death of the narrowly defined subject, which has blighted their holidays and mined their evenings. The Economic an
15、d Social Research Council, which gives grants to postgraduate social scientists, wants to get better value for money by cutting short this agony. It would like to see faster completion rates: until recently, only about 25% of PhD candidates were finishing within four years. The ESRC s response has b
16、een to stop PhD grants to all institutions where the proportion taking less than four years is below 10%; in the first year of this policy the national average shot up to 39%. The ESRC feels vindicated in its toughness, and will progressively raise the threshold to 40% in two years. Unless completio
17、n rates improve further, this would exclude 55 out of 73 universities and polytechnics-including Oxford University, the London School of Economics and the London Business School. Predictably, howls of protest have come from the universities, who view the blacklisting of whole institutions as arbitra
18、ry and negative. They point out that many of the best students go quickly into jobs where they can apply their research skills, but consequently take longer to finish their theses. Polytechnics with as few as two PhD candidates complain that they are penalized by random fluctuations in student perfo
19、rmance. The colleges say there is no hard evidence to prove that faster completion rates result from greater efficiency rather than lower standards or less ambitious doctoral topics. The ESRC thinks it might not be a bad thing if PhD students were more modest in their aims. It would prefer to see mo
20、re systematic teaching of research skills and fewer unrealistic expectations placed on young men and women who are undertaking their first piece of serious research. So in future its grants will be given only where it is convinced that students are being trained as researchers, rather than carrying
21、out purely knowledge-based studies. The ESRC can not dictate the standard of thesis required by external examiners, or force departments to give graduates more teaching time. The most it can do is to try to persuade universities to change their ways. Recalcitrant professors should note that students
22、 want more research training and a less elaborate style of thesis, too. 6 By the time new doctors get a job and try to finish their theses in spare time _. （ A） most of them died of some sickness （ B） their holidays and evenings have been ruined by their jobs （ C） most of them are completely tired o
23、f the narrowly defined subject （ D） most of their grants run out 7 Oxford University would be excluded out of those universities that receive PhD grants from ESRC, because the completion rate of its PhD students theses within four years is lower than _. （ A） 25% （ B） 40% （ C） 39% （ D） 10% 8 All the
24、following statements are the argument against ESRC s policy except （ A） all the institutions on the blacklist are arbitrary and negative （ B） there is no hard evidence to prove that faster completion rates result from greater efficiency rather than lower standards or less ambitious doctoral topics （
25、 C） many of the best students go quickly into jobs where they can apply their research skills, but consequently take longer to finish their theses （ D） some polytechnics are penalized by random fluctuations in student performance 9 The ESRC would prefer _. （ A） that the students were carrying out pu
26、rely knowledge-based studies rather than being trained as researchers （ B） to see higher standards of PhD students theses and more ambitious doctoral topics （ C） more systematic teaching of research skills to fewer unrealistic expectations placed on inexperienced young PhD students （ D） that PhD stu
27、dents were less modest in their aims 10 What the ESRC can do is to _. （ A） force departments to give graduates more teaching time （ B） try to persuade universities to change their ways （ C） dictate the standard of thesis required by external examiners （ D） note that students want more research train
28、ing and less elaborate style of thesis 10 Influenza should not be dismissed as a trivial disease. It kills thousands of people every year at a very high cost to the economy, hits hardest the young and the elderly, and is most dangerous for people over the age of 65. Influenza is mainly a seasonal il
29、lness of the winter months, though in tropical and subtropical areas of Asia and the Pacific it can occur all the year round. The damaging effects of influenza can be prevented by immunization, but constant changes of antigenic specificity of the virus necessitate a different composition of the vacc
30、ine (疫苗 ) from one year to another. The network of WHO surveillance activities to monitor the evaluation of influenza vi- ms strains, and WHO hold an annual consultation at the end of February to recommend the composition of the vaccine for the forthcoming epidemiological season. These recommendatio
31、ns are published immediately in the weekly epidemiological record. Vaccination each year against influenza is recommended for certain high-risk populations. In closed or semi-closed settings, maximum-benefit from immunization is likely to be achieved when more than three-quarters of the population a
32、re vaccinated so that the benefit of “herd immunity“ can be exploited. Special care should be taken of the following groups: -adults and children with chronic disorders of the pulmonary or cardiovascular systems requiting regular medical follow-up or who had been hospitalized during the previous yea
33、r, including children with asthma; -residents of nursing homes and other establishments for patients of any age with chronic medical conditions; -all people over the age of 65. Physicians, nurses, and other personal in primary and intensive care units, who are potentially capable of transmitting inf
34、luenza to high risk persons, should be immunized; visiting nurses and volunteer workers providing home care to high-risk persons should also be included. 11 This passage _. （ A） concerns the damaging effects of influenza （ B） mentions the steps of fighting against the harmful effects of influenza （
35、C） emphasizes the worry expressed by all age groups （ D） both A and B 12 That a different component part of the vaccine is necessary is principally due to the variable change of _. （ A） virus （ B） strain （ C） antigen （ D） immunization 13 Which has been done by World Health Organization in combating
36、the bad effects of influenza? （ A） Supervising the assessment of influenza virus strains. （ B） Holding meetings twice a year to provide the latest data concerning the composition of the vaccines. （ C） Publishing the related information in a WHO almanac. （ D） Stressing the importance of preventing in
37、fluenza for people living in tropical areas of Asia. 14 According to the passage, high-risk persons exclude which of the following kinds of people? （ A） Children suffering from asthma. （ B） The elderly with chronic pulmonary diseases. （ C） Middle aged people with chronic heart diseases. （ D） Nurses
38、taking special care of the sick. 15 In which of the following publications would this passage most likely be printed? （ A） A surgery book. （ B） A psychology book. （ C） An epidemiologist book. （ D） An obstetrics book. 15 In science the meaning of the word “explain“ suffers with civilizations every st
39、ep in search of reality. Science can not really explain electricity, magnetism, and gravitation; their effects can be measured and predicted, but of their nature no more is known to the modem scientist than to Thales who first speculated on the electrification of amber. Most contemporary physicists
40、reject the notion that man can ever discover what these mysterious forces “really“ are. Electricity, Bertrand Russell says, “is not a thing, like St. Pauls Cathedral; it is a way in which things behave. When we have told how things behave, when they are electrified, we have told all there is to tell
41、.“ Until recently scientists would have disapproved of such an idea. Aristotle, for example, whose natural science dominated Western thought for two thousand years, believed that man could arrive at an understanding of reality by reasoning from self-evident principles. He felt, for example, that it
42、is a self-evident principle that everything in the universe has its proper place, hence one can conclude that objects fall to the ground because that is where they belong, and smoking goes up because that is where it belongs. The goal of Aristotelian science was to explain why things happen. Modem s
43、cience was born when Galileo began trying to explain how things happen and thus originated the method of con- trolled experiment which now forms the basis of scientific investigation. 16 The aim of controlled scientific experiments is _. （ A） to explain why things happen （ B） to explain how things h
44、appen （ C） to describe self-evident principles （ D） to support Aristotelian science 17 What principles most influenced scientific thought for two thousand years? （ A） The speculations of Thales. （ B） The forces of electricity, magnetism, and gravity. （ C） Aristotles natural science. （ D） Galileos di
45、scoveries. 18 Bertrand Russells notion about electricity is _. （ A） disapproved of by most modern scientists （ B） in agreement with Aristotles theory of self-evident principles （ C） in agreement with scientific investigation directed toward “how“ things happen （ D） in agreement with scientific inves
46、tigation directed toward “why“ things happen 19 The passage says that until recently scientists disagreed with the idea _. （ A） that there are mysterious forces in the universe （ B） that man can not discover what forces “really“ are （ C） that there are self-evident principles （ D） that we can discov
47、er why things behave as they do 20 Which of the following is the topic most likely to be discussed right after the passage? （ A） Tile most recent definition of “explain“. （ B） The relationship between science and religion. （ C） The limitations of science. （ D） Galileo and the birth of modem science.
48、 20 Some weeks ago, riding in a cab from Boston to Cambridge, my driver turned and asked me what I did for a living. “Teach English,“ I said. “Is that so?“ The young man continued. “I was an English major.“ But then, instead of chatting idly about Joyce or dropping the subject altogether, this drive
49、r caught me short. “You guys,“ he said, turning back so that his furry face pressed into the glass partition, “ought to be shot.“ I think he meant it. The guilty party in this present state of affairs is not really the academic discipline. It is not the fault of English and philosophy and biology that engineering and accounting and computer science afford students better job opportunities and increased flexibility in career choice. Literature and an understanding of, say, mans evolutionary past are a
