2016年秋季中口筆試

發(fā)布時間：2016-12-05

作者：

來源于：昂立外語網(wǎng)站

SECTION 1: LISTENING TEST(45 minutes)

Part A: Spot Dictation

Directions: In this part of the test, you will hear a passage and read the same passage with blanks in it. Fill in each of the blanks with the word or words you have heard. Write your answer in the corresponding space on your ANSWER SHEET. Remember you will hear the passage ONLY ONCE.

In the summer of 2010, record-high temperatures hit Moscow. At first it was just another_____________(1), but the scorching heat that started in _____________(2) continued through mid-August. Western Russia was ____________(3) in early August that 300 or 400 new fires were starting every day. Millions of acres of forest _____________(4). So did thousands of homes. Crops withered. Day after day Moscow was bathed in _____________(5). The elderly and those with impaired respiratory systems ______________(6). The death rate climbed as heat stress and smoke _______________(7). The average July temperature in Moscow was a scarcely believable 14 degrees Fahrenheit ______________(8). Twice during the heat wave, the Moscow temperature _______________(9) Fahrenheit, a level Muscovites had never before ________________(10). Watching the heat wave play out over a seven-week period on the TV ________________(11), with the thousands of fires and the smoke everywhere, was like watching ________________(12) that had no end. Russia’s 140 million people were _______________(13), traumatized by what was happening to them and their country. The most _______________(14) in Russia’s 130 years of record keeping was taking a heavy economic toll. The loss of _________(15) and the projected cost of their restoration ______________(16) some $300 billion. Thousands of farmers faced bankruptcy. Russia’s ______________(17) shrank from nearly 100 million tons to scarcely 60 million tons as crops withered. Recently the world’s number three wheat exporter, Russia banned grain exports ______________(18) to rein in soaring domestic food prices. Between mid-June and mid-August, the world price of wheat ______________(19). Prolonged drought and the worst heat wave in Russian history ______________(20) worldwide.

Part B: Listening Comprehension

1. Statements

Directions: In this part of the test, you will hear several short statements. These statements will be spoken ONLY ONCE, and you will not find them written on the paper; so you must listen carefully. When you hear a statement, read the four answer choices marked (A), (B), (C) and (D) and decide which one is closest in meaning to the statement you have heard. Then mark the corresponding letter on your ANSWER SHEET with a single line through the centre.

1. (A) I’m pleased that George came to Italy with us.

(B) I’m sorry that George didn't come to Italy with us.

(D) I hope that George isn’t going to Italy with us.

2. (A) Jane will arrive at 8:45.

(B) Jane will not arrive until 9:15.

(D) Jane usually arrives on time.

3. (A) He lost his voice in arguing for the matter.

(B) He had no opinion whatever of the matter.

(D) He had no say whatever in the matter.

4. (A) I feel sleepy because of the medicine I’m taking.

(B) The doctor hasn’t been able to help me.

(D) I think I should ask the doctor to give me more medicine.

5. (A) I’m satisfied with my current schedule.

(B) I should design a new work schedule.

(D) My work schedule has put me to a lot of trouble.

6. (A) You should resist in face of a robber’s threat.

(B) You must not fight when your life is not threatened.

(D) The robber will threaten your life if you show your weakness.

7. (A) Development plans will be reviewed at our next meeting.

(B) Our next meeting will be scheduled at 10 a.m. May 9.

(D) More than two items will be discussed at our next meeting.

8. (A) Jack will not make the agreement to share profits.

(B) Profits from the product will be divided between Susan and Jack.

(D) Susan will not share profits with Jack unless he promotes the product.

9. (A) Many tourists like the places with the French colonial influence.

(B) The menu features the Vietnamese and French styles.

(D) Vietnam attracts a lot of French tourists.

10. (A) A larger European Union is sure to face more differences.

(B) The member countries will help the European Union solve differences.

(D) The European Union is likely to settle differences if it gets bigger.

2. Talks and Conversations

Directions: In this part of the test, you will hear some short talks and conversations. After each one, you will hear some questions. The talks, conversations and questions will be spoken ONLY ONCE. Now listen carefully and choose the best answer from the four choices marked (A), (B), (C) and (D). Then mark the corresponding letter on your ANSWER SHEET with a single line through the centre.

Questions 11—14

11. (A) He arrived too early for the appointment.

(B) He missed the early bus.

(D) He felt very bad when he got up.

12. (A) Because he was late for the appointment.

(B) Because he was going to bother the other speaker.

(D) Because he said something improper.

13. (A) A weak heart.

(B) A headache.

(D) Bronchitis.

14. (A) Three days.

(B) Four days.

(D) Six days.

Questions 15—18

15. (A) At 12:01 a.m.

(B) At 4:00 a.m.

(D) At 8:00 a.m.

16. (A) Because they want to get products discounted 50% or more.

(B) Because they want to camp in front of the store to play games.

(D) Because they can save more than $400.

17. (A) It should be a season of shopping gifts for families and friends.

(B) It should be a season of giving and taking.

(D) It should be a season of remembering Santa Claus.

18. (A) William Graham thinks Christmas season has been commercialized.

(B) Shoppers may spend as much as $400 on Friday after Thanksgiving.

(D) Many businesses rely on Black Friday to make more profits.

Questions 19—22

19. (A) Because he plans to work for a national company.

(B) Because he wants Jenny to give him some advice.

(D) Because Jenny often attends interviews in English.

20. (A) Shaking hands firmly with interviewers.

(B) Smiling while greeting the interviewer.

(D) Memorizing answers beforehand.

21. (A) Prepare a quick speech to show your confidence.

(B) Find out as much as possible about the company.

(D) Use some appropriate body language.

22. (A) Asking about the salary.

(B) Trying to be confident.

(D) Paraphrasing some words to explain what you want to say.

Questions 23—26

23. (A) Single-sex schools.

(B) Co-educational schools.

(D) Famous schools.

24. (A) They will be banned from enrollment.

(B) They will risk losing students.

(D) They will rank low among schools.

25. (A) Sometimes teachers pay more attention to boys.

(B) Male students outperform them in math and science.

(D) Boys make trouble for them and put them in a fragile condition.

26. (A) Romance.

(B) Depression.

(D) Weight obsession.

Questions 27—30

27. (A) The present apartment is noisy.

(B) The present apartment is not bright.

(D) The present apartment gets no sunshine.

28. (A) Furnishings.

(B) Surrounding.

(D) Location.

29. (A) 2,500 RMB.

(B) 3,000 RMB.

(D) 5,000 RMB.

30. (A) Find a small apartment.

(B) Find a one-bedroom apartment.

(D) Find a young person to share an apartment.

Part C: Listening and Translation

1. Sentence Translation

Directions: In this part of the test, you will hear 5 sentences in English. You will hear the sentences ONLY ONCE. After you have heard each sentence, translate it into Chinese and write your version in the corresponding space on your ANSWER SHEET.

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

2. Passage Translation

Directions: In this part of the test, you will hear 2 passages in English. You will hear the passages ONLY ONCE. After you have heard each passage, translate it into Chinese and write your version in the corresponding space on your ANSWER SHEET. You may take notes while you are listening.

(1)

(2)

SECTION 2: STUDY SKILLS(45 minutes)

Directions: In this section, you will read several passages. Each passage is followed by several questions based on its content. You are to choose ONE best answer, (A), (B), (C) or (D), to each question. Answer all the questions following each passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in that passage and mark the corresponding letter on your ANSWER SHEET with a single line through the centre.

Questions 1—5

Drunken driving—sometimes called America’s socially accepted form of murder—has become a national epidemic. Every hour of every day about three Americans on average are killed by drunken drivers, adding up to an incredible 250,000 over the past decade.

A drunken driver is usually defined as one with a 0.10 blood alcohol content or roughly three beers, glasses of wine or shots of whisky drunk within two hours. Heavy drinking used to be an acceptable part of the American manly image and judges were not severe in most courts, but the deaths caused by drunken driving have recently caused so many well-publicized tragedies, especially involving young children, that public opinion is no longer so tolerant.

Twenty states have raised the legal drinking age to 21, changing a trend in the 1960s to reduce it to 18. After New Jersey lowered it to 18, the number of people killed by 18-20 year-old drivers more than doubled, so the state recently upped it back to 21.

Reformers, however, fear that raising the drinking age will have little effect unless accompanied by educational programs to help young people to develop “responsible attitudes” about drinking and teach them to resist peer pressure to drink.

Tough new laws have led to increased arrests and tests and, in many areas already, to a marked decline in fatalities. Some states are also punishing bars for serving customers too many drinks. A bar or pub in Massachusetts was fined for serving six or more brandies to a customer who was “obviously drunk” and later drove off the road, killing a nine-year-old boy.

As the fatalities continue to occur daily in every state, some Americans are even beginning to speak well of the 13 years of national prohibition of alcohol that began in 1919, what President Hoover called the “noble experiment”. They forget that legal prohibition didn’t stop drinking, but encouraged political corruption and organized crime. As with the booming drug trade generally, there is no easy solution.

1. Why has public opinion regarding drunken driving changed?

(A) Increasing accidents attract so much publicity.

(B) The news media have highlighted the problem.

(D) Drivers are more conscious of their image.

2. The word “well-publicized” (para. 2) is closest in meaning to ______.

(A) well-known

(B) recently circulated

(D) widespread

3. Statistics issued in New Jersey indicated that ______.

(A) many drivers were not of legal age

(B) young drivers were often bad drivers

(D) the level of drinking increased in the 1960s

4. Laws recently introduced in some states have ______.

(A) reduced the number of convictions

(B) resulted in fewer deaths on the road

(D) specified the amount drivers can drink

5. According to the passage, why is the problem of drinking and driving difficult to solve?

(A) Alcohol is easily obtained.

(B) Drinking is linked to the drug trade.

(D) Legislation alone is not sufficient.

Questions 6—10

The ancient reputation of Vikings as bloodthirsty raiders on cold northern seas has undergone a radical change in recent decades. A kinder, gentler, and more fashionable Viking emerged. But our view of the Norse may be about to alter course again as scholars turn their gaze to a segment of Viking society that has long remained in the shadows.

Archaeologists are using recent findings and analysis of previous discoveries—from iron collars in Ireland to possible plantation houses in Sweden—to illuminate the role of slavery in creating and maintaining the Viking way of life.

Scandinavian slavery still echoes in the English language today. The expression “to be held in thrall,” meaning to be under someone’s power, traces back to the Old Norse term for a slave: thrall.

Slavery in the region long predates the Vikings. There is evidence of vast economic disparity as early as the first century A.D., with some people living with animals in barns while others live nearby in large, prosperous homes. Ancient chronicles long mentioned that people, as well as precious objects, were a target of the Viking raids that began in 793 A.D. at the Scottish monastery of?Lindisfarne. The?Annals of Ulster?record “a great booty of women” taken in a raid near Dublin in 821 A.D., while the same account contends that 3,000 people were captured in a single attack a century later.

Neil Price, an archaeologist at Sweden’s Uppsala University, suspects that “slavery was a very significant motivator in raiding.” One key factor may have been a dire need for women. Some scholars believe that the Vikings were a polygamous society that made it hard for non-elites to find brides. That may have driven the raids and ambitious exploration voyages for which Vikings are best known. Some genetic studies, for example, suggest that a majority of Icelandic women are related to Scottish and Irish ancestors who likely were raid booty.

As Viking fleets expanded, so did the need for wool to produce the sails necessary to power the ships. This also may have driven the need for slaves. The pressing need for wool production likely led to a plantation-like economy, a topic now being studied by researchers. For example, at a Swedish site called Sanda, researchers in the 1990s found a great hall surrounded by small houses. Some Swedish archaeologists now believe this could have been a Viking plantation with slaves as the labor force. “What you likely have is a slave-driven production of textiles,” said Price. “We can’t really know who is making the cloth, but the implications are clear.”

William Fitzhugh, an archaeologist at the Smithsonian Institution, added that “female slaves were concubines, cooks, and domestic workers.” Male thralls likely were involved in cutting trees, building ships, and rowing those vessels for their Viking masters. Other studies suggest that Viking slaves were sometimes sacrificed when their masters died, and they ate poorly during their lives.

6. According to the passage, the signs of Scandinavian slavery can be found from the following sources EXCEPT ______.

(A) the English language

(B) An Icelandic history book

(D) genetic studies

7. “Slavery in the region long predates the Vikings.” (para 5) means it ______.

(A) can be traced back to the Vikings

(B) is attributable to the Vikings

(D) came into being long before the time of the Vikings

8. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

(A) Slaves played a big part in the shaping of the Viking way of life.

(B) The Vikings have always been known for their barbarity and brutality.

(D) There is solid evidence to prove that Viking plantations were manned with slaves.

9. The Annals of Ulster record that as many as three thousand people were taken in a single raid in ______.

(A) the late 8th century

(B) the early 9th century

(D) the second half of the 9th century

10. In the Vikings’ society, female slaves did not serve as ______.

(A) housemaids

(B) wood-cutters

(D) cooks

Questions 11—15

By now you’ve probably heard that the percentage of active smokers among us has steadily and significantly dwindled. Today nearly 16% of high-school-age kids are regular puffers, as opposed to 36% of teens in 1997. This is, in a word, fantastic. Fewer teen smokers means fewer addicted adults down the road, and ultimately, fewer smoking-related deaths. However, in a potentially worrisome development, over the past three years there’s been an almost 800% increase (yes, that’s an 8) in the use of electronic cigarettes—small, battery-powered machines that deliver vapor that is far gentler than tarry, chemical-riddled smoke but still carries a hefty nicotine payload.

E-cigarettes can be flavored to taste like candy and emit a vaguely scented, superfine substance often referred to as vapor, which is actually aerosol. It dissipates almost instantaneously without telltale traces on breath or clothes. E-cigs can be used one drag at a time, allowing novices to precisely control their nicotine intake without “wasting ” half or more of a cigarette before they’ve built up a tolerance. It’s not hard to imagine an enterprising kid whipping out an e-cig in the school stairwell and grabbing a couple quick puffs on the way to geometry.

E-cigarettes are so new that there’s no long-term research on their health effects. Technically, they emit lower levels of toxins than conventional cigarettes, meaning e-cig smokers inhale fewer noxious chemicals to get the same dose of nicotine. But that’s only because tobacco smoke is so incredibly toxic. “When you burn tobacco, you release thousands of chemicals,” says Peter Shields, MD, deputy director of the? Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. “You just don’t get that in an e-cig.” This is welcome news to long-term smokers looking for a safer alternative, but it’s hard to ignore?the feeling that these devices might make it significantly easier for kids to pick up a lifelong addiction. Are e-cigs harbingers of a brave new smoke-free future, or are they just the latest Trojan horse from big tobacco?

If we’re going to try to answer that question, we’d better do it soon, because kids are not waiting for scientific data to be handed down by white-coated experts. Between 2011 and 2014, e-cigarette use among high school students jumped from 1.5% to 13.4%, a shockingly precipitous rise.

For generations, cigarette smoking has been a powerful symbol of rebellion and adulthood. And during those yearning years on the way to maturity, kids long for such signifiers. The car. The girlfriend or boyfriend. Experimentation with drugs and alcohol. Today’s kids probably know the dangers of cigarettes better than any other generation—and yet are still drawn to them, though not at the same levels as previous gens. Thankfully, the romantic self-image cigarettes confer does not appear to extend to e-cigarettes. I spoke with several teens about nicotine use in their peer groups and was told that around 10% of their classmates were regular smokers and that another 5% did it occasionally. Most interestingly, all of them also reported that e-cigarettes were seen as “babyish,” “immature” or “a toy.” “You look kind of dumb smoking a little plastic tube,” a high-school junior stated. “No one’s going to say you look cool doing that.”

11. E-cigs have the following advantages over conventional cigs EXCEPT that ______.

(A) e-cigs are cheaper

(B) e-cigs hardly leave repellent odor on breath or clothes

(D) e-cigs make it easier to control nicotine intake

12. The expression “Trojan horse” ( para. 3) refers to ______.

(A) an effective promotion trick that goes off smoothly

(B) a seemingly desirable gift that contains harm

(D) a vicious plan for the future generation

13. The word “precipitous”(para.4) is closest in meaning to ______.

(A) dangerous

(B) overwhelming

(D) smooth

14. According to the passage, the one factor that might prevent e-cigs from becoming even

more popular is ______.

(A) they are too mild to be satisfying

(B) they are nicotine-free

(D) they do not spell maturity

15. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

(A) Having boyfriends or girlfriends, smoking and drinking all make teens feel cool and mature.

(B) Though already a substitute for conventional cigarettes, e-cigs are perceived as childish.

(D) The use of e-cigs is soaring in high schools because it signifies masculinity.

Questions 16—20

The appeal of hydrogen fuel cells has?long been obvious. Because these devices use electrochemical reactions to generate electricity from hydrogen, emitting only heat and water in the process, they offer a particularly green source of power, especially for vehicles. What has not been so obvious, however, is how to make hydrogen fuel cells practical. In 2009, Steven Chu, then the U.S. Secretary of Energy,?told an interviewer?that in order for hydrogen fuel-cell transportation to work, “four miracles” needed to happen. First, scientists had to find an efficient and low-cost way to produce hydrogen. Second, they had to develop a safe, high-density method of storing hydrogen in automobiles. Third, an infrastructure for distributing hydrogen had to be built so that fuel-cell vehicles would have ample refueling options. Fourth, researchers had to improve the capacity of the fuel-cell systems themselves, which were not as durable, powerful, and low cost as the internal combustion engine. Chu concluded that achieving all four big breakthroughs would be unlikely. “Saints only need three miracles,” he added.

Accordingly, the U.S. Department of Energy dramatically cut funding for fuel cells, reducing its support for various programs to nearly a third of previous levels. For the rest of Chu’s tenure, the department awarded nearly no new grants to develop the technology at universities, national labs, or private companies. Although the department’s total expenditures on fuel cells and hydrogen had always amounted to a small fraction of overall global investment in the sector, the change in posture sent a deeply pessimistic signal worldwide.

Immediately after Chu’s comments made the rounds, the hydrogen community issued a defense, contending that major progress had been made. But the damage was done. Universities stopped hiring faculty in an area perceived to be dying, top students fled to other subjects, and programs at national labs were forced to reconfigure their efforts. Established scientists saw an abrupt decrease in funding opportunities for hydrogen and refocused their research on other technologies. The overall effect was a drastic shrinking of the human-resource pipeline feeding hydrogen and fuel-cell research.

All of this was not necessarily a bad thing: new technologies come along all the time, pushing aside older ones that are no longer bound for the market. In the case of hydrogen fuel cells, however, scientists really had made big breakthroughs, and the technology was finally in the process of hitting the market. Rather than redirecting limited resources to more realistic technologies, the U.S. government’s policy arguably amounted to pulling the rug out from under hydrogen and fuel-cell research and development in the United States and handing over leadership in the sector to other countries. Patents are perhaps the best indicator of how much practical progress a technology is making, and even as the U.S. government decreased its support for research into hydrogen fuel cells (and increased its support for other clean energy technologies), the number of U.S. patents related to fuel cells continued to dwarf those of other energy technologies, with the exception of solar power.

16. Prerequisites for a workable hydrogen fuel-cell transportation include the following

EXCEPT ______.

(A) the ability to store hydrogen safely in automobiles

(B) a cost-effective way to produce hydrogen

(D) improved capacity of the fuel-cell systems

17. The U.S. Department of Energy cut its funding for fuel cells because ______.

(A) economic downturn had hit its budget

(B) other energy technologies had made greater progress

(D) it was pessimistic about the future of fuel-cell technology

18. Recent years saw the largest number of patents goes to ______.

(A) wind energy technology

(B) marine energy technology

(D) fuel-cell technology

19. The phrase “pulling the rug out from under” (para.4) most likely means ______.

(A) drawing attention to

(B) withdrawing support for

(D) recognizing the importance of

20. The author’s attitude towards the U.S. government’s policy regarding hydrogen fuel cell

can best be summarized as ______.

(A) critical

(B) ambiguous

(D) appreciative

Questions 21—25

Imagine you are in a department store to buy a carry-on suitcase. As you walk through the store, you notice the hefty price tag on a luxury watch on display. You have no interest in the watch, which sells for $2,000, but does its high price affect how much you would be willing to fork out for the suitcase? Would that amount be any different, if, instead, you had noticed a much lower price on a display of bath towels? Most people, believing they are rational shoppers, would say no. Yet we have found that this is not necessarily the case.

Marketers have long known that consumers do not have fixed ideas about what things characteristically cost, or ought to cost. In fact, exposure to comparison prices for the same product and the same brand, and for items within the same category, can influence how much a customer is willing to pay. That is why many companies try to shift perceptions about prevailing market prices upward by presenting inflated ‘regular’ prices for similar or identical goods.

But consumers are on to this game and rarely see list prices as indicative of what they should pay. Managers, therefore, must come up with something new. Recent research suggests that incidental prices—prices for unrelated goods encountered during the purchase process—can do the job. Customers are exposed to such prices without consciously making judgements about them. But these encounters, whether accidental or planned by the seller, can inflate or deflate a buyer’s willingness to pay the asking price for a given product, though most shoppers would deny this.

To test the effect of incidental prices, we analysed sales data from one of the largest automobile auctioneers in the USA. The company’s classic car auction each year attracts some 125,000 enthusiasts, all of whom have access to historical prices and book values on site. For this study, we looked at sales records for 1,477 automobiles auctioned off between 1995 and 2000. Our findings are compelling: price differentials between pairs of successive cars offered at auction systematically affected the maximum bid for the second car. When the highest bid on the first car in a pair was 100% to 200% higher than the book value of the one that followed it, the second car fetched an average of 39% more than its book value. The larger the differential, the stronger the effect.

The implications of these results are far-reaching. In another study, we sold copies of a popular music CD, essentially a commodity for which the price is relatively fixed, along the boardwalk in Venice Beach, California. We found that significantly more holidaymakers were willing to pay our $20 asking price when sweatshirts on sale nearby were priced at $80 than when the same sweatshirts were priced at $10—even when the shoppers said they had no interest in buying the sweatshirt. None of the participants interviewed after the study believed the incidental price of the sweatshirt affected his or her decision, but clearly it did.

21. The author of the passage has found that customers ______.

(A) are always on the lookout for a bargain

(B) often switch from one purchase to another

(D) may be influenced by prices of other items

22. According to the second paragraph, companies these days ______.

(A) realize that prices for goods will increase

(B) offer branded goods at lower prices

(D) understand why products within the same brand do not have similar prices

23. What does the author say about the marketing strategy of comparison prices?

(A) It no longer works well.

(B) It reduces sales of certain products.

(D) Some retailers unknowingly benefit from it.

24. Which of the following is TRUE of the classic car auction?

(A) Only 39% of the cars sold for the expected price.

(B) Buyers paid more for some cars auctioned off in pairs.

(D) Buyers had little idea of what they should offer for the cars on auction.

25. What do both the car auction research and the CD experiment illustrate?

(A) The role played by incidental prices.

(B) The unpredictable response of customers.

(D) The impact of the type of outlet on a sales activity.

Questions 26—30

Ten thousand years ago, as the last ice age drew to a close, sea levels around the world were far lower than they are today. Much of the land under the North Sea and the English Channel was part of a huge region of forests and grassy plains, where herds of horses and reindeer roamed free and people lived in villages by the lakes and rivers. Then the climate gradually became warmer and the water trapped in glaciers and ice caps was released. This ancient land was submerged in the resulting deluge and all that remains to tell us that it was once lush and verdant—and inhabited—is the occasional stone tool, harpoon or mammoth tusk brought up from the sea bed by fishing boats.

Now the development of advanced sonar technology, known as bathymetry, is making it possible to study this flooded landscape in extraordinary detail. A special echo sounder is fixed to the bottom of a survey vessel, and it makes wide sweeps across the sea bed. While previous devices have only been able to produce two-dimensional images, bathymetry makes use of computers, satellite positioning devices and special software to create accurate and remarkably detailed maps. For the first time an ancient river bed leaps out of the three-dimensional image, complete with rocky ledges rising up from the bottom of the valley. The sites of pre-historic settlements can now be pinpointed, and it is also possible to see in stunning detail the sunken shipwrecks that litter this part of the sea bed.

According to archaeologist Dr Linda Andrews, this technological development is of huge significance. “We now have the ability to map the sea bed of the Channel and the North Sea as accurately as we can map dry land,” she says. She is, however, scathing about the scale of government funding for such projects. “We have better images of Mars and Venus than of two-thirds of our own planet! In view of the fact that Britain is a maritime nation, and the sea has had such a massive influence on us, it’s an absolute scandal that we know so little about the area just off our shores!”

Once bathymetric techniques have identified sites where people might have built their homes and villages, such as sheltered bays, cliffs with caves and the shores of freshwater lakes, divers could be sent down to investigate further. Robot submarines could also be used, and researchers hope they will find stone tools and wood from houses (which survives far longer in water than on dry land) as proof of human activity. The idea of Britain as a natural island kingdom will be challenged by these findings: Britain has been inhabited for about 500,000 years, and for much of this time it has been linked on and off to continental Europe. It remains to be seen how far this new awareness is taken on board among our ‘island’ people.

In fact, the use of bathymetry scanners will not be limited to the study of lost landscapes and ancient settlements. It will also be vital in finding shipwrecks. Records show that there are about 44,000 shipwrecks off the shores of Britain, but there is good reason to believe that the real figure is much higher. In addition, commercial applications are a real possibility. Aggregates for the construction industry are becoming increasingly expensive, and bathymetry scanners could be used to identify suitable sites for quarrying this material. However, mapping the sea bed will also identify places where rare plants and shellfish have their homes. Government legislation may prevent digging at such sites, either to extract material for a profit or to make the water deeper: there are plans to dredge parts of the English Channel to provide deeper waterways for massive container ships.

26. According to the passage, the area now under the sea ______.

(A) was not previously thought to have been populated

(B) was created by the last Ice Age

(D) was flooded, drowning the inhabitants

27. What is the most important aspect of the new scanning technique?

(A) It can pinpoint the location of shipwrecks under the sea.

(B) It only requires the use of an echo sounder.

(D) It reveals important details of underwater landscape.

28. How does Dr. Andrews feel about the lack of accurate maps of the waters around Britain?

(A) Outraged.

(B) Resigned.

(D) Amused.

29. The passage suggests that a better understanding of the settlements on the seabed may ______.

(A) inspire more young people to take up archaeology

(B) modify the attitudes of the British to their country’s history

(D) alter the perception other countries have about Britain

30. Quarrying is mentioned to show that ______.

(A) there will be little difficulty obtaining funds for research

(B) underwater research should be completed as soon as possible

(D) the project may have practical benefits for industry

SECTION 3: TRANSLATION TEST (1)(30 minutes)

Directions: Translate the following passage into Chinese and write your version in the corresponding space on your ANSWER SHEET.

Education has long been embraced as one of the best ways to combat inequality. Yet, this faith in the power of education has begun to falter. There is mounting evidence that improving our education system won’t do much to fix inequality.

Modern inequality isn’t driven by the gap between college-educated workers and high school grads. All the action is at the top of the income ladder, where the extremely rich have pulled away from everyone else.

Since 1979, wages for the top 1 percent in the United States have grown nine times faster than wages for the bottom 90 percent. That’s not a tale of the well-educated doing better than the less-well-educated. It’s about the super-rich outearning everyone else—including college graduates, who haven’t gotten a raise in over a decade.

So what doesn’t seem to work is a focus on improving education. Even if we could dramatically increase the number of college graduates, or greatly expand access to high-quality education, the United States would likely remain an extremely unequal place, a country where even college grads are being left behind.