1、翻译硕士英语模拟试卷 24 及答案与解析一、Vocabulary1 Carbon monoxide, funned by the incomplete combustion of some carbonaceous material, has been a _ to humans since the domestication of fire.（A）hazard（B） dispute（C） docile（D）boost2 The house by the sea had a mysterious air of _ about it.（A）melancholy（B） serenity（C） se
2、rioso（D）retroject3 There is only time to _ the plan and we will discuss it in detail next week.（A）decry（B） eliminate（C） expound（D）adumbrate4 Catherines mother was _ ill last summer, but fortunately, she was making a slow but steady recovery after an operation was done on her hung.（A）definitely（B） de
3、finitively（C） critically（D）fatally5 While this healthy lifestyle approach to health worked for some (the wealthy members of society), people experiencing poverty, unemployment or little control _ the conditions of their daily lives benefited little from this approach.（A）to（B） into（C） on（D）over6 Rese
4、arch into the validity of selection methods has consistently shown that the unstructured interview, _ the interviewer asks any questions he or she likes, is a poor predictor of future job performance.（A）whomever（B） when（C） whenever（D）where7 The doctor assured Victor that his wife would certainly _ a
5、lthough she had been unconscious for 48 hours.（A）take to（B） come to（C） see to（D）stick to8 Excuses relieve tension by helping _ both sides that the mistake was an aberration that will not be repeated.（A）insure（B） ensure（C） reassure（D）assure9 A static technocratic order, by contrast, requires a very d
6、ifferent sort of personality: a drone who does what he is told and shuns novelty, someone who avoids facing, or _ challenges.（A）composing（B） proposing（C） imposing（D）posing10 Walt Disneys board is stepping up plans to find a new ruler to save the Magic Kingdom and fight off a $54 billion hostile _ fr
7、om Comcast, the US cable giant.（A）purchase（B） bid（C） offer（D）merger11 His story of rescuing ten drowning men totally by himself was _.（A）wonderful（B） incredible（C） indignant（D）immense12 What a sad sight, with all the shops _ and the people gone.（A）shuttled（B） shuttered（C） shuttles（D）shutters13 Altho
8、ugh he suffered from discrimination, Martin Luther King is a man who believed in reconciliation and only rarely _ a grudge during his Civil Rights movement.（A）he carried（B） did he carry（C） when he carried（D）that he carried14 The committee members resented _ them of the meeting.（A）the president that
9、he did not tell（B） the president not to inform（C） the presidents not informing（D）the president that he failed informing15 The introduction of gunpowder gradually made the bow and arrow _, particularly in Western Europe.（A）obsolete（B） obscure（C） optional（D）overlapping16 My tutor frequently reminds me
10、 to _ myself of every chance to improve my English.（A）avail（B） inform（C） assure（D）notify17 The individual TV viewer invariably senses that he or she is _ an anonymous, statistically insignificant part of a huge and diverse audience.（A）everything except（B） anything but（C） no less than（D）nothing more
11、than18 Even though formidable winters are the norm in the Dakotas, many people were unprepared for the _ of the blizzard of 1888.（A）inevitability（B） ferocity（C） probability（D）mildness19 Its a modern city, full of _ tower block.（A）rising（B） heaving（C） ascending（D）soaring20 The author took a _ approac
12、h to the topic.He presented both sides of the issue evenhandedly and did not let his own feelings intrude.（A）dispassionate（B） passionate（C） disputable（D）contesting21 The path follows the river closely, occasionally _ round a clump of trees.（A）diverting（B） diverging（C） deviating（D）deflecting22 The of
13、ficial was arrested for inability to _ all his fortune he has enjoyed.（A）clarify（B） intensify（C） verify（D）justify23 She was extremely lucky; when her great-uncle died, she _ a fortune.（A）came by（B） came over（C） came into（D）came about24 The couple departed _ a heavy rain.（A）far away（B） between（C） in
14、the midst of（D）among25 The _ of smoking among women, formerly negligible, has grown to such a degree that lung cancer has become the chief causer of cancer-related deaths among women.（A）affluence（B） ferociousness（C） impudence（D）incidence26 If you _ your demand, then maybe you will have more chance o
15、f getting the job you want.（A）lessen（B） alleviate（C） moderate（D）degenerate27 They _ so tired if they _ for a whole day.（A）wouldnt feel, didnt walk（B） wouldnt feel, werent walking（C） wouldnt be feeling, werent walking（D）wouldnt be feeling, hadnt been walking28 They climbed to the top of the hill _ th
16、ey could get a birds-eye view of the city.（A）for fear that（B） in order that（C） in case（D）as a result29 A _ is a growth of feathers, fur or skin along the top of the heads of some animals, especially birds.（A）crest（B） crust（C） crush（D）crumb30 The judge ruled that the evidence was inadmissible on the
17、grounds that it was _ to the issue at hand.（A）irrational（B） unreasonable（C） invalid（D）irrelevant二、Reading Comprehension30 The Roman language served as the first model for answering the question. Even to someone with no knowledge of Latin, the similarities among Roman languages would have made it nat
18、ural to suggest that they were derived from a common ancestor. On the assumption that the shared characteristic of these languages came from the common ancestor, it would have been possible to reconstruct many of the characteristics of the original common language. In much the same way it became cle
19、ar that the branches of the Indo-European family could be studied and a hypothetical family tree constructed, reading back to a common ancestor. This is the tree approach. The basic process represented by the tree model is one of divergence: when languages become isolated from one another, they diff
20、er increasingly, and dialects gradually become different until they become separate languages.Divergence is by no means the only possible tendency in language evolution. Johannes Schmidt introduced a “wave“ model, in which linguistic changes were like waves, eventually leading to convergence; that i
21、s, growing similarity among languages that were initially quite different.Today, however, most linguists think primarily in terms of familytrees. It is necessary to construct some models of how language change might occur according to a process-based view. There are four main classes of models.The f
22、irst is the process of initial colonization, by which an uninhabited territory becomes populated; its language naturally becomes that of the colonizers. Second are processes of divergence, such as the linguistic divergence arising from separation or isolation mentioned above in relation to early mod
23、els of the Indo-European languages. The third group of models is based on processes of linguistic convergence. The wave model, formulated by Schmidt in the 1870s, is an example, but convergence methods have not generally found favor among linguists.Now, the slow and rather static operation of these
24、processes is complicated by another factor: linguistic replacement. That factor provides the basis for a fourth class of models, in many areas of the world the languages initially spoken by the indigenous people have come to be replaced, fully or partially, by languages spoken by people coming from
25、outside. Were it not for this large complicating factor, the worlds linguistic history could be faithfully described by the initial distribution of Homo Sapiens, followed by the gradual workings of divergence and convergence. So linguistic replacement also has a key role to play in explaining the or
26、igins of the Indo-European languages.31 The characteristics of the original common language can be described on the basis of _.（A）the similarities among Romance languages（B） the hypothetical family tree（C） the process known as divergence（D）the common features of Roman languages32 According to Johann
27、es Schmidt, _.（A）languages change on a large scale like waves（B） divergence is not the only possible tendency in language change（C） language evolution can be explained in terms of divergence and convergence（D）different languages will become increasingly similar until they develop into one language33
28、 It can be inferred from paragraph 4 that _.（A）there doesnt exist any satisfactory model of language change（B） most linguists explain language change only in terms of divergence（C） most linguists generally dont accept the idea of language convergence（D）the first process in language evolution is colo
29、nization, followed by divergence34 Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?（A）Linguistic replacement can be ignored for the linguistic history to be fully described.（B） Linguistic replacement cannot be ignored in explaining where the Indo-European languages come from（C） Because of li
30、nguistic replacement, the other three models prove to be incorrect（D）Compared with the other models, linguistic replacement is the most important model35 This passage is primarily written to _.（A）discuss the importance of linguistic replacement（B） introduce the origin of the Indo-European language（C
31、） explain the divergence of the Indo-European languages（D）introduce models concerning the origin of the Indo-European languages35 Of all the catastrophes that could befall America in coming years, a big terrorist attack, perhaps even bigger than those on September 11 th 2001, may be more likely than
32、 others. Who would pay for the millions in property damage, business losses and other claims from such an attack?This is the question with which Americas Congress is currently wrestling. The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) was passed as a temporary measure after September 11th to provide a gover
33、nment back-stop for the insurance industry in the event of a catastrophic attack. It now says government can step in when insured losses from a terrorist event top $5m. TRIA has helped to stabilize the market, and enabled insurers to continue offering terrorism-risk cover even after swallowing the b
34、ig losses imposed by September llth. But unless Congress acts last, TRIA will expire at the end of the year. One likely result is the loss of terrorism-risk cover for thousands of firms and property owners. This, in turn, could disrupt businesses and make some commercial activity impossible. With mo
35、difications, TRIA should be extended.The Bush administration has been opposed to extension. It has always seen TRIA as a short-term measure, and has argued that the private sector should assume sole responsibility for terrorism insurance. This is the right goal. A purely private solution would be be
36、st, lifting any future burden-from the taxpayer and relying on the industry to price and spread risks more accurately than any government can do. But relying entirely on the private sector immediately does not look feasible. With TRIAs expiration looming, insurers and reinsurers have not, as the adm
37、inistration expected, rushed to write new contracts for next year offering to fall gaps in terrorism cover.Why the hesitation? Unlike other risks, the threat of terrorism cannot be forecast in time or scope, making a mocker:“ of insurers underwriting models. A big chemical, biological or nuclear att
38、ack is a prospect few can price, or afford to cover. Insurers are already being threatened with downgrades by rating agencies for the terrorism cover they have sold.One reason is that insurance, far from being a free market, is already one of the most heavily regulated of industries. Operating in a
39、highly distorted marketplace, with 50 state regulators, the insurance industry seems to be having trouble pricing the largest of terrorism risks in a way that is credible and can still offer insurers a profit. Letting TRIA expire, and abruptly withdrawing the government role in insuring the largest
40、losses, would just exacerbate this problem.Any renewal of TRIA should, once again, be limited to two years, say. Its extension must also shift more of the burden, and the business, to the private sector. If an extension is agreed and TRIAs threshold for government intervention is raised substantiall
41、y, work should begin now to find better longer-term solutions. One place to look is abroad, where governments have dealt with terrorism risk for years. In Britain, for instance, insurers have created a pool of capital that is backed by the government and, over time, shifts a greater share of risk on
42、 to the private sector. Other options to consider include tax changes that reduce the cost of holding capital by insurers and reinsurers, and facilitating the use of catastrophe bonds.With fewer regulatory distortions of insurance markets, a solely private solution may be attainable in the long run.
43、 In the current environment, though, the same government that regularly warns of terrorist threats must still have a role to play in a solution that safeguards Americas financial security. It would be better to plan ahead than wait for a rushed, Katrina-style bail-out after a big attack. Amid all th
44、e uncertainties, one thing seems clear: any such bail-out would be more costly and lead to even greater market distortions without an extension of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act today.36 TRIA _.（A）provides insurance to properties in high-risk areas（B） should be extended as it is now（C） requires go
45、vernment support to risk insurance（D）has caused a substantial loss of revenue to the state37 The private sector is hesitant in taking sole responsibility for terrorism insurance because _.（A）their current pricing models cannot estimate terrorism attacks properly（B） they do not often insure things th
46、ey cannot forecast（C） they are threatened by loss of other insurance takers（D）they do not have regulator-approved contracts that cover terrorism attacks38 The extension of TRIA should aim at _.（A）making government intervention more unacceptable（B） introducing foreign companies into terrorism insuran
47、ce（C） setting up catastrophe bonds managed by insurers and reinsurers（D）pushing the private sector to take sole responsibility39 If the government let TRIA expire, _.（A）it should stop warning the public of terrorist attacks regularly（B） it will have to pay more money when large scale catastrophe occ
48、urs（C） regulatory distortions of insurance markets will be reduced（D）private insurance companies will stop insuring terrorism attacks40 The writer is _ in developing the argument in this passage.（A）objective（B） emotional（C） disturbed（D）indifferent40 It so happened that Lucy, who found daily life rat
49、her chaotic, entered a more solid world when she opened the piano. She was then no longer either deferential or patronizing; no longer either a rebel or a slave. The kingdom of music is not the kingdom of this world; it will accept those whom breeding and intellect and culture have alike rejected. The commonplace person begins to play, and shoots into the empyrean with
