1、2014 年天津外国语大学翻译硕士英语真题试卷及答案与解析一、Vocabulary1 The native opposition to authority began at midnight, when a gang of youths massacred the Newton family and set the house afire.（A）approbation（B） rebellion（C） recrimination（D）action2 Their relations during the divorce proceedings had been mostly friendly, s
2、o his belligerence in the judges chambers surprised her.（A）antebellum（B） trust（C） pact（D）aggressiveness3 The Senate Republicans, outraged by their treatment, were in a bellicose mood.（A）quarrelsome（B） troublesome（C） charming（D）terrible4 The whole Europe slumbered through the Dark Age without any spa
3、rks of enlightenment.（A）lingered（B） smothered（C） trudged（D）slept5 As the seriousness of the situation slowly became apparent, the crowds mood changed from anxiety to hysteria.（A）gravid（B） gravitate（C） gravitas（D）gravity6 Uncomfortable with their mean jokes, he tried to raise the tone of the conversa
4、tion.（A）alleviate（B） elevate（C） gravitate（D）leavening7 The detectives insisted on a detailed and sequential account of the evenings events.（A）tailored（B） standard（C） ordered（D）disordered8 A society should not have a strong desire to some Utopian ideal, but should strive for something else.（A）inspire
5、（B） aspire（C） repair（D）conspire9 Conditions on the noisy hallway were not at all conducive to sleep.（A）beneficial（B） helpful（C） thankful（D）dutiful10 He sometimes thought that missing that plane had been the most consequential event of his life.（A）courageous（B） victorious（C） significant（D）vigorous11
6、The assistants obsequious manner drove the other employees wild.（A）flattering（B） spattering（C） scattering（D）staggering12 The development of female writers is hindered by the extreme conventionality of the other sex.（A）impeded（B） derailed（C） minimized（D）failed13 Those dissenters of westernization mad
7、e no mention of the healthy aspects of globalization.（A）salutary（B） salubrious（C） saturated（D）scathing14 Before deciding to litigate the matter, they had tried to negotiate a solution out of court.（A）blame（B） clear（C） claim（D）disturb15 The company issued a retraction the next day, apologizing to tho
8、se who had been offended.（A）renewal（B） pact（C） safeguard（D）withdrawal16 In Italy a record 89 international designers unveiled spring/summer collections, which resulted in fashion confusion.（A）underlined（B） uncovered（C） undetected（D）presented17 The new study of the paintings provenance proved it to b
9、e a genuine Monet.（A）fame（B） origin（C） conclusion（D）prominence18 Her only excuse for her behavior was her well-known mercurial temper.（A）changing（B） brilliant（C） lively（D）hot19 The asteroids in our solar system may be remnants of a primeval cloud of dust.（A）survival（B） approval（C） primal（D）primordia
10、l20 Spring and all its blossoms are ephemeral here but a moment and then gone.（A）long-lived（B） short-lived（C） excessive（D）successive21 Many objects Aof daily use have clearly been influenced by science, Bbut their form and function were determined by technologists, artisans, designers, inventors, an
11、d engineersCusing non-scientific Dmodes of thought.22 Absurd random failures that plague automatic control systems are not Amerely trivial aberrations; they are a reflection of the chaos Bwhich results when design is Cassumed to be Dprimarily a problem in mathematics.23 One explanation Afor the tend
12、ency of animals to be Bless vigilant in smaller groups than in larger ones assumes Cthat the vigilant Behaviorlooking up, for exampleis Daimed at predators.24 The earliest controversies Aabout the relationship between photography and art centered on Bif photographys fidelity Cto appearances and depe
13、ndence on a machine allowed it to be Da fine art.25 It is possible for students to obtain Aadvanced degrees in English Bthat knowing Clittle or nothing about traditional Dscholarly methods.26 As a member of the middle class, Gaskell could Ahardly help Bapproaching working-class life as an outside ob
14、server and a reporter, and the reader of the novel Cis always Dunconscious of this fact.27 The two main causes are population pressures, especially the pressures Aof large metropolitan populations, and the desirea Bhighly commendable oneto bring a decent Clife at the lowest possible cost to the Dlar
15、gest possible number of people.28 Up to now we have tried to do a little bit of Aeverythingand tried to do it Bin the headlinesCthatwhat we ought to do first is Ddraw up a list of priorities.29 The output of light and heat Afrom the sun requires that some 600 Bmillion tons of hydrogen Cbe converted
16、into helium Din the sun every second.30 The Acontemporary Thanksgiving turkey is an Bengineered product, Cstreamline and marketed by giant turkey factories for modern Dconsumers.二、Reading Comprehension30 Below each of the following four passages you will find questions or incomplete statements about
17、 the passage. Each statement or question is followed by lettered words or expressions. Select the word or expression that most satisfactorily completes or answers each question in accordance with the meaning of the passage. Write your answers on the ANSWER SHEET(40 points).(1)People appear to be bor
18、n to compute. The numerical skills of children develop so early and so inexorably that it is easy to imagine an internal clock of mathematical maturity guiding their growth. Not long after learning to walk and talk, they can set the table with impressive accuracy one plate, one knife, one spoon, one
19、 fork, for each of the five chairs. Soon they are capable of noting that they have placed five knives, spoons, and forks on the table, and a bit later, that this amounts to fifteen pieces of silverware. Having thus mastered addition, they move on to subtraction. It seems almost reasonable to expect
20、that if a child were secluded on a desert island at birth and retrieved seven years later, he or she could enter a second-grade mathematics class without any serious problems of intellectual adjustment.Of course, the truth is not so simple. This century, the work of cognitive psychologists has illum
21、inated the subtle forms of daily learning on which intellectual progress depends. Children were observed as they slowly graspedor as the case might be bumped intoconcepts that adults take for granted, as they refused, for instance, to concede that quantity is unchanged as water pours from a short st
22、out glass into a tall thin one. Psychologists have since demonstrated that young children, asked to count the pencils in a pile, readily report the number of blue or red pencils, but must be coaxed into finding the total. Such studies have suggested that the rudiments of mathematics are mastered gra
23、dually, and with effort. They have also suggested that the very concept of abstract numbersthe idea of a oneness, a twoness, a threeness that applies to any class of objects and is a prerequisite for doing anything more mathematically demanding than setting a tableis itself far from innate.31 What d
24、oes the passage mainly discuss?（A）Trends in teaching mathematics to children.（B） The use of mathematics in child psychology.（C） The development of mathematical ability in children.（D）The fundamental concepts of mathematics that children must learn.32 It can be inferred from the passage that children
25、 normally learn simple counting_.（A）soon after they learn to talk（B） by looking at the clock（C） when they begin to be mathematically mature（D）after they reach second grade in school33 The author implies that most small children believe that the quantity of water changes when it is transferred to a c
26、ontainer of a different_.（A）color（B） quality（C） weight（D）shape34 According to the passage, when small children were asked to count a pile of red and blue pencils they_.（A）counted the number of pencils of each color（B） guessed at the total number of pencils（C） counted only the pencils of their favori
27、te color（D）subtracted the number of red pencils from the number of blue pencils35 With which of the following statements would the author be LEAST likely to agree?（A）Children naturally and easily learn mathematics.（B） Children learn to add before they learn to subtract.（C） Most people follow the sam
28、e pattern of mathematical development.（D）Mathematical development is subtle and gradual.35 (2)Human vision, like that of other primates, has evolved in an arboreal environment. In the dense, complex world of a tropical forest, it is more important to see well than to develop an acute sense of smell.
29、 In the course of evolution, members of the primate line have acquired large eyes while the snout has shrunk to give the eye an unimpeded view. Of mammals, only humans and some primates enjoy color vision. The red flag is black to the bull. Horses live in a monochrome world. Light visible to human e
30、yes, however, occupies only a very narrow band in the whole electromagnetic spectrum. Ultraviolet rays are invisible to humans, though ants and honeybees are sensitive to them. Humans have no direct perception of infrared rays, unlike the rattlesnake, which has receptors tuned in to wavelengths long
31、er than 0. 7 micron. The world would look eerily different if human eyes were sensitive to infrared radiation. Then, instead of the darkness of night we would be able to move easily in a strange, shadowless world where objects glowed with varying degrees of intensity. But human eyes excel in other w
32、ays. They are, in fact, remarkably discerning in color gradation. The color sensitivity of normal human vision is rarely surpassed even by sophisticated technical devices.36 What does the passage mainly discuss?（A）Ultraviolet rays.（B） Human vision.（C） Sight and smell.（D）The environment of primates.3
33、7 Why does the author mention the “tropical forest“?（A）To explain why primates have developed keen vision.（B） To suggest that primates need to see only the color green.（C） To give an example of environmental change.（D）To indicate where large-eyed primates can be found.38 The word “monochrome“ is clo
34、sest in meaning to which of the following?（A）Monotonous（B） Ultraviolet（C） One-dimension（D）One-color39 It can be inferred from the passage that humans could move more easily at night if they_.（A）had a narrower field of vision（B） were color-blind（C） had infrared vision（D）lived in an arboreal environme
35、nt40 According to the passage, the ability of humans to distinguish color differences is_.（A）average（B） weak（C） excellent（D）variable40 (3)According to some scientists, migratory birds should be able to withstand the winter. A birds feathery coat is good insulation against the cold. Because a bird is
36、 warm-blooded, its body temperature always remains constant, even if the temperature of its surroundings changes.The factors that trigger migratory behavior in birds are difficult to explain. This behavior seems to be instinctive, not learned. For example many northern species leave their summer hom
37、es while the weather is still warm and the food supply plentiful. Young arctic terns born at the arctic breeding grounds will take off with the flock for distant lands they have never seen.Bird migrations are probably regulated by the glandular system. Scientists suspect that the changing length of
38、the day is the factor that triggers migratory behavior. In an experiment, migratory birds were kept in artificially lighted rooms. It was found that if periods of darkness were lengthened proportionately, the glands of the birds became active. These glands secrete hormones, which are chemicals that
39、control numerous body functions. Shorter periods of daylight seem to change the hormone balance of birds, so that they retain more fat. This stored fat that provides the energy for a long flight. The same experiment revealed that the birds became more excited as the artificial night was lengthened.
40、It is probably no coincidence that most flocks begin their migratory flights during the night.41 What does the passage mainly discuss?（A）Common migratory paths for birds.（B） Why birds migrate.（C） Species of birds that do not migrate.（D）Migration in cold climates.42 According to the passage, which of
41、 the following protects birds against cold weather?（A）Glands（B） Hormones（C） Feathers（D）Artificial light43 In the 2nd paragraph, the author mentions young arctic terns as an example of birds that_.（A）do not migrate（B） breed during migration（C） migrate instinctively（D）adapt to the cold44 According to
42、the passage, birds exposed to longer periods of darkness experience all of the following changes EXCEPT_.（A）activated glands（B） excited behavior（C） retention of more fat（D）increased appetite45 In the experiment mentioned in the passage, the scientists adjusted the birds_.（A）food supply（B） body tempe
43、ratures（C） exposure to light（D）brain chemistry45 (4)The winds of the earth behave in accordance with one simple pattern: equalize the surface temperatures by carrying heat away from the equator and moving it towards the poles. Because the process is enormous in scale, it involves complex intricacies
44、 which account for the unpredictability of weather despite the modern tools available to the forecaster. However, there are two observable features of global atmospheric circulation which are particularly applicable to North America. One is the gentle, yet persistent, sinking current which falls fro
45、m the upper atmosphere. Such subsidence is the end of the global convection cycle which begins with updrafts of warm air near the equator; the air loses moisture as it rises and begins to migrate towards the poles. At approximately thirty degrees latitude the air begins to sink, creating the hot, dr
46、y conditions common in the southwestern U. S. throughout the year, but especially during the summer. The other significant part of the worldwide phenomena is known as the jet stream, a shifting belt of high-speed winds blowing from the west across the width of the continent at high latitudes. The pa
47、th of these rapid breezes on any given day is a key to predicting the surface conditions. During the summer months, the winds are generally along the Canadian border, although they may alter their course as high as Alaska or as low as Louisiana. The jet stream generally pulls wet air into Washington
48、, Oregon and Canada from the Pacific Ocean. In the lower regions of North America, its effect is almost the opposite; the warm air from the deserts of Mexico and the southwestern U. S. is pulled towards the jet stream causing higher temperatures throughout the area. In the East, however, the cool ai
49、r from the Gulf of Mexico is drawn up by the jet creating a cooling effect for the South and Midwest. In the winter, the jet moves to lower latitudes resulting in greater rainfall for southwestern states while the cool Canadian air causes winter storms in the northern areas.46 What is the main topic of the passage?（A）Wind circulation patterns（B） Jet stream winds（C） Pole equalization（D）Weather forecasting47 According to the passage, what causes the winds to rise at the tropical latitudes?（A）Higher temperatures（B） Sinking curre
