中国矿业大学20062009年历年博士研究生入学考试英语试题

1、中国矿业大学2006年博士研究生入学考试英语试题Part One Cloze (15 points)Directions: Fill each of the blanks in the passage with one suitable word.Generally, a computer is any device that can perform numerical calculations. Currently, (1) _, the term usually refers (2) _ an electronic device that can (3) _ a series of tas

2、ks according to a set of instructions.In 1953 there were only about 100 computers (4) _ use in the world. Today hundreds of millions of computers are (5) _ in homes, schools, businesses, government offices, and universities for almost every conceivable (6)Modern desktop (7) _ computers, or PCs, are

3、many times more powerful than the huge, million dollar (8) _ computers of the 1960s and 1970s. Most PCs can perform from 400 million to several billion operations per second. These computers are used not (9) _ for household management and personal entertainment, but also for most or the automate (10

4、) _ require by small business. The fastest desktop computers are called workstations, and they are generally used for scientific, engineering, or advanced business application.Part Two Reading Comprehension (40 points)Passage OneQuestions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage:The energy crisis,

5、which is being felt around the world, has dramatized how the careless use of the earths resources has brought the whole world to the brink of disaster. The over development of motor transport, with its increase of more cars, more highways, more pollution, more suburbs, more commuting, has contribute

6、d to the near destruction of our cities. The disaster has arrived in the form of the energy crisis.Our present situation is unlike war, revolution or depression. Worldwide resources exploitation and energy use have brought us to a state where long range planning is essential. What we need is not a c

7、ontinuation of our present serious state, which endangers the future of our country, our children, and our earth, but a movement forward to a new norm in order to work rapidly and effectively on planetary problems.This country has been falling back under the continuing exposures of loss of morality

8、and the revelation that lawbreaking has reached into the highest places in the land. There is a strong demand for moral revival and for some devotion that is vast enough and yet personal enough to enlist the devotion of all. In the past it has been only in a way in defense of their own country and t

9、heir own ideals that any people have been able to devote themselves wholeheartedly.This is the first time that we have been asked to defend ourselves and what we hold dear in cooperation with all the other inhabitants of this planet, who share with us the same endangered air and the same endangered

10、oceans. There is a common need to reassess our present course, to change that course and to devise new methods through which the world can survive. This is a priceless opportunity.To grasp it we need a widespread understanding of nature if the crisis confronting usand the worldis a crisis that is no

11、 passing inconvenience, no by-product of the ambitions of the oil producing countries, no environmentalists mere fears, no by-product of any present system of government. What we face is the outcome of the invention of the last four hundred years. What we need is a transformed life style. This new l

12、ife style can flow directly from science and technology, but its acceptance depends on a sincere devotion to finding a higher quality of life for the worlds children and future generation.1Which condition does the author feel has nearly destroyed our cities?ALack of financial planning.BThe breakup o

13、f the family.CNatural disasters in many regions.DThe excessive growth of motors.2The author in the second paragraph states what we need in our present situation is _.Aa continuation of our present serious stateBworldwide resources exploitation and energy useCa movement forward to a new norm to plane

14、t research workDa state where long-range planning is essential to us3According to the author, what is one example of our loss of morality?ADisregard for law.BLack of devotion.CLack of cooperation.DExploitation of resources.4By comparing past problems with present ones, the author draws attention to

15、theAsignificance of this crisisBinadequacy of governmentsCsimilarity of the past to the presentDhopelessness of the situation5According to the last paragraph, what contribution does the author feel people mustnow make?ASearch for new energy sources.BOutlaw motor transportation.CAccept a new life sty

16、le.DAdopt a new form of government.Passage TwoQuestions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage:With human footprints on the moon, radio telescopes listening for messages from alien creatures (who may or may not exist), technicians looking for celestial and planetary sources of energy to support

17、our civilization, orbiting telescopes data hinting at planetary systems around other stars, and political groups trying to figure out how to save humanity from nuclear warfare that would damage life and eliminate on a planet wide scale, an astronomy book published today enters a world different from

18、 the one that greeted books a generation ago. Astronomy has broadened to involve our basic circumstances and our mysterious future in the universe. With eclipse and space missions broadcast live, and with NASA, Europe, and the USSR planning and building permanent space stations, astronomy offers adv

19、enture for all people, an outward exploratory thrust that may one day be seen as an alternative to mindless consumerism, ideological arguing, and wars to control dwindling resources on a closed, finite Earth.Todays astronomy students not only seek an up-to-date summary of astronomical facts, they as

20、k, as people have asked for ages, about our basic relations to the rest of the universe. They may study astronomy partly to seek points of contact between science and other human endeavors: philosophy, history, politics, environmental action, even the arts and religion.Science fiction writers and sp

21、ecial effect artists on recent films help todays students realize that unseen worlds of space are real placesnot abstract concepts. Todays students are citizens of a more real, vaster cosmos than conceptualized by students of a decade ago.In designing this edition, the editors and I have tried to re

22、spond to these developments. Rather than jumping at the start into murky waters of cosmology, I have begun with the viewpoint of ancient people on Earth and worked outside across the universe. This method of organization automatically (if loosely) reflects the order of humanitys discoveries about as

23、tronomy and provides a unifying theme of increasing distance and scale.6This passage is most probably taken from _.Aan article of popular scienceBthe introduction of a book of astronomyCa lecture given by the author to astronomy studentsDthe preface of a piece of science fiction7The authors purpose

24、in presenting the first paragraph is _.Ato explain the background and new features of todays astronomyBto discuss in detail the most recent achievements in space researchCto introduce some newly established space stationsDto illustrate that the world today is different in many aspects from that of a

25、 generations ago8The author thinks that the growing interest in space exploration among people on Earth will probably lead to _.Aall people having chances of traveling in spaceBthe realization of permanent settlement on other planetsCmore disturbance not only on Earth but also in outer spaceDorders,

26、 harmony and peace on our planet Earth9The author believes that todays astronomy students _.Aare much brighter than students of a generation agoBno longer care about astronomical factsCare better informed about the unseen worlds of spaceDmay learn more about man and his research in various fields th

27、rough the study of astronomy10The word “murky” (Line 2, Para. 4) most probably means _.Adark or cloudy, hazyBdeep and blueCdishonorableDdark and unpleasantPassage ThreeQuestions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage:The subject of my study is women who are initiating social change in a small r

28、egion in Texas. The women are Mexican Americans who are, or were, migrant agricultural workers. There is more than one kind of innovation at work in the region, of course, but I have chosen to focus on three related patterns of family behavior.The pattern life style represents how migrant farm worke

29、rs of all nationalities lived in the past and how many continue to live. I treat this pattern as a baseline with which to compare the changes represented by pattern and . Families in pattern work and travel in extended kin units, with the eldest male occupying the position of authority. Families are

30、 large: eight or nine children are not unusual, and all members are economic contributors in this strategy of family migration. Families in pattern manifest some differences in behavior while still maintaining aspects of pattern . They continue to migrate but on a reduced scale, often modifying thei

31、r schedules of migration to allow children to finish the school year. Parents in this pattern often find temporary local jobs as checkers to make up for lost farming income. Pattern families usually have fewer children than do pattern families.The greatest amount of change from pattern , however, is

32、 in pattern families, who no longer migrate at all. Both parents work full time in the area and have an average of three children. Children attend school for the entire year. In pattern , the women in particular create new roles for themselves for which no local models exist. They work full time and

33、 children study in fixed school. They also assume a greater responsibility in family decisions than do women in the other patterns. Although these women are in the minority among residents of the region, they serve as role models for others, causing moderate changes to spread in their communities. T

34、hese women enjoyed their work and the companionship of fellow women workers. The steady, relatively high income allowed their families to stop migrating. And, as the benefits to these women became increasingly apparent, they and their families became even more willing to consider changes in their li

35、ves that they would not have considered before.11Which of the following titles best reflects the main focus of the passage?AA Survey of Three Mexican American Families at Work in Texas.BInnovative Career Women： Effects on Family Unity.CChanges in the life styles of Migrant Mexican American Families.

36、DFarming of Family: The Unavoidable Choice for Migrant Farm Workers.12According to the passage, which of the following statements is mentioned as a life style in pattern ?AFamilies are often small with few children.BWomen stay at home to take care of children.CChildren in such families often modify

37、their schooling schedules according to their migration.DAll family members should support family migration economically.13It can be seen from the passage that pattern children _.Acan be allowed to finish their school year by modifying migration schedulesBstudy in fixed schoolCdo not migrate any more

38、Dusually have seven or eight or more brothers or sisters14According to the passage, women in pattern families _.Astill can not earn a reliable and high incomeBcontinue to work solely to meet the urgent needs of their familyCdo not like working with other womenDcan serve as models of behavior for oth

39、ers in the region15The authors attitude towards the three patterns of behavior mentioned in the passage is best described as one of _.Agreat admirationBunbiased objectivityCdissatisfactionDindifferencePassage FourQuestions 16 to 20 are based on the following passage:Time spent in a bookshop can be m

40、ost enjoyable, whether you are a book lover or merely go there to buy a book as a present. You may even have entered the shop just to find shelter from a sudden shower. Whatever the reason, you can soon become totally unaware of your surroundings. The desire to pick up a book with an attractive dust

41、 jacket is irresistible, although this method of selection ought not to be followed, as you might end up with a rather dull book. You soon become engrossed in some book or other, and usually it is only much later that you realize you have spent too much time there and must dash off to keep some forg

42、otten appointmentwithout buying a book, of course.This opportunity to escape the realities of everyday life is, I think, the main attraction of a bookshop. There are not many places where it is possible to do this. A music shop is very much like a bookshop. You can wander round such places to your h

43、earts content. If it is a good shop, no assistant will approach you with the inevitable greeting, “Can I help you, sir?” You neednt buy anything you dont want. In a bookshop an assistant should remain in the background until you have finished browsing. Then, and only then, are his services necessary

44、. Of course, you may want to find out where a particular section is, but when he has led you there, the assistant should retire prudently and look as if he is not interested in selling a single book.You have to be careful not to be attracted by the variety of books in a bookshop. It is very easy to

45、enter the shop looking for a book on, say, ancient coins and to come out carrying a copy of the latest best selling novel and perhaps a book about brass rubbing something which had only vaguely interested you up till then. This volume on the subject,however, happened to be so well illustrated and th

46、e part of the text you read proved so interesting that you just had to buy it. This sort of thing can be very dangerous. Apart from running up a hug account, you can waste a great deal of time wandering from section to section. Booksellers must be both long suffering and indulgent.16You may spend to

47、o much time in a bookshop because _.Athe dust jackets are very attractiveByou start reading one of the booksCit is raining outsideDyou have to make sure you cant buy a dull book as a present17According to the second paragraph, in a good bookshop _.Anobody takes any notice of youBthe assistant greets

48、 you in a friendly wayCyou may feel satisfiedDyou can hear beautiful music18An assistant in a bookshop should come up to help you _.Aas soon as you have entered a shopBjust before you finish browsingConly when you have finished browsingDwhen he leads you to a particular section19According to the pas

49、sage, its very possible to enter a bookshop and buy _.Aa book on ancient coinsBa best-selling novel on brass-rubbingCa book that clearly interests youDa book that unexpectedly interests you20This passage is mainly concerned with _.Asome advice on entering a bookshopBhow to select books in a bookshop

50、Cassistants service in a bookshopDattractions of books in a bookshopPassage FiveQuestions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage:By the 1980s, according to international but admittedly inconsistent definitions of literacy, about seven out of ten adults in the world were considered literate. The

51、 increase in literacy from ancient times to the present bas been a story of unbroken progress. The ability of people within a given society to read and write has been influenced by a number of factors, including economic well-being, the availability of material to read, the amount of education avail

52、able, and the basic matter of the usefulness of reading.Of these factors, usefulness has probably been the most decisive. In ancient societies,as people settled into stable patterns of agriculture and trade, it became useful for some of them to read and write in order to keep records, to transact bu

53、siness, and to measure amounts of land, animals, goods, materials, and to produce. The responsibilities of citizenship led to a fairly high level of literacy in ancient Greece and Rome, but in addition to that, there also grew an appreciation of good literature, poetry, drama, history, and philosoph

54、y.During the early Middle Ages, with the general breakdown of society in Europe and the decrease of commerce, literacy became largely confined to the church. But in the late Middle Ages, in the period of the Renaissance, the great expansion of commerce and banking led to a revival in literacy for th

55、e same reason that had caused it to increase in the ancient world: usefulness.With the invention of the printing press and inexpensive paper late in the 15th century there was for the first time a great availability of reading material for more people. Religious reformers were among the first to uti

56、lize the situation, quickly getting translations of the Bible and booklets into the hands of many people.The broadened religious enlightenment that resulted was followed in later centuries by a political one. Political theorists who favored doctrines promoting the natural rights of man called for an

57、 attack upon illiteracy. Political revolutions in some country helped inaugurate an era in which all classes were called upon to become informed on public policy for their own welfare. Against this political background there emerged the movement for universal popular education. Literacy came to be u

58、nderstood as a means whereby the individual could benefit and advance, and gradually whole societies began to acknowledge that universal literacy among their citizens was an avenue to greater economic well-being.21From the first paragraph we know _.Ait is fairly easy to determine literacyBthere is no illiteracy in a