2010年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语一试题

2010年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语一试题

Section Ⅰ  Use of English

Directions:

Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered bland and mark [A], [B], [C] or [D] on ANSWER SHEET 1.(10 points)

In 1924 American’ National Research Council sent to engineer to supervise a series of experiments at a telephone parts factory called the Hawthorne Plant near Chicago. It hoped they would learn how stop-floor lighting   1   workers productivity. Indeed, the studies ended   2   giving their name to the “Hawthorne effect” the extremely influential idea the very   3   to being experimented upon changed subject’s behavior.

The idea arose because of the   4   behavior of the women in the plant. According to   5   of the experiments their hourly out put rose when lighting was increased, but also when it was dimmed. It did not   6   what was done in the experiment;   7   something was changed, productivity rose. A(n)   8   that they were being experimented upon seemed to be   9   to alter workers’ behavior   10   itself.

After several decades, the same data were   11   to econometric the analysis. Hawthorne experiments has another surprise store   12   the descriptions on record, no systematic   13   was found that levels of productivity were related to changes in lighting.

It turns out that peculiar way of conducting the experiments may be have let to   14   interpretation of what happened   15  , lighting was always changed on a Sunday. When work started again on Monday, output   16   rose compared with the previous Saturday and   17   to rise for the next couple of days   18  , a comparison with data for weeks when there was no experimentation showed that output always went up on Monday, workers   19   to be diligent for the first few days of the week in any case, before   20   a plateau and then slackening off. This suggests that the alleged” Hawthorne effect” is hard to pin down.

1.[A]affected  [B]achieved  [C]extracted  [D]restored

2.[A]at  [B]up  [C]with  [D]off

3.[A]truth  [B]sight  [C]act  [D]proof

4.[A]controversial  [B]perplexing  [C]mischieous  [D]ambiguous

5.[A] requirements  [B]explanations  [C]accounts   [D]assessment

6.[A]conclude  [B]matter  [C]indicate  [D]work

7.[A]as far as  [B]for fear that  [C]in case that  [D]so long as

8.[A]awareness  [B]expectation  [C]sentiment  [D]illusion

9.[A]suitable   [B]excessive  [C]enough  [D]abundant

10.[A]about  [B]for  [C]on  [D]by

11.[A]compared  [B]shown  [C]subjected  [D]conveyed

12.[A]contrary to  [B]consistent with  [C]parallel with  [D]pealiar to

13.[A]evidence  [B]guidance  [C]implication  [D]source

14.[A]disputable  [B]enlightening  [C]reliable  [D]misleading

15.[A]In contrast  [B]For example  [C]In consequence  [D]As usual

16.[A]duty  [B]accidentally   [C]unpredictably  [D]suddenly

17.[A]failed  [B]ceased  [C]starte  [D] continued

18.[A]    [B]     [C]    [D]

19.[A]    [B]     [C]    [D]

20.[A]breaking  [B]climbing  [C]surpassing  [D]hiting

Section Ⅱ  Reading Comprehension

Part A

Directions:

Reading the following four texts, answer the questions below each text by choosing [A],[B],[C] or [D]. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET1. (40 points)

Text 2

Over the past decade, thousands of patents have seen granted for what are called business methods. Amazon.com received one for its “one-click” online payment system. Merrill Lynch got legal protection for an asset allocation strategy. One inventor patented a technique for lying a box.

Now the nation’s top patent court appears completely-property lawyers abuzz the U.S. court of Appeals for the federal circuit said it would use a particular case to conduct a broad review of business-method patents. In the Bilski, as the case is known, is a “very big deal”, says Dennis’D Crouch of the University of Missouri School of law. It “has the potential to eliminate an entire class of patents.”

Curbs on business-method claims would be a dramatic about-face, because it was the federal circuit itself that introduced such patents with is 1998 decision in the so-called state Street Bank case, approving a patent on a way of pooling mutual-fund assets. That ruling produced an explosion in business-method patent filings, initially by emerging internet companies trying to stake out exclusive pinhts to specific types of online transactions. Later, move established companies raced to add such patents to their files, if only as a defensive move against rivals that might bent them to the punch. In 2005, IBM noted in a court filing that it had been issued more than 300 business-method patents despite the fact that it questioned the legal basis for granting them. Similarly, some Wall Street investment films armed themselves with patents for financial products, even as they took positions in court cases opposing the practice.

The Bilski case involves a claimed patent on a method for hedging risk in the energy market.  The Federal circuit issued an unusual order stating that the case would be heard by all 12 of the court’s judges, rather than a typical panel of three and that one issue it wants to evaluate is weather it should “reconsider” its state street Bank ruling.

The Federal Circuit’s action comes in the wake of a series of recent decisions by the supreme Count that has narrowed the scope of protections for patent holders. Last April, for example the justices signaled that too many patents were being upheld for “inventions” that are obvious. The judges on the Federal circuit are “reacting to the anti_patent trend at the supreme court”, says Harole C.wegner, a partend attorney and professor at aeorge Washington University Law School.

26. Business-method patents have recently aroused concern because of

[A] their limited value to business

[B] their connection with asset allocation

[C] the possible restriction on their granting

[D] the controversy over authorization

27. Which of the following is true of the Bilski case?

[A] Its rulling complies with the court decisions

[B] It involves a very big business transaction]

[C] It has been dismissed by the Federal Circuit

[D] It may change the legal practices in the U.S.

28. The word “about-face” (Line 1,Para 3) most probably means

[A] loss of good will

[B] increase of hostility

[C] change of attitude

[D] enhancement of disnity

29. We learn from the last two paragraphs that business-method patents

[A] are immune to legal challenges

[B] are of ten unnecessarily issued

[C] lower the esteem for patent holders

[D] increase the incidence of risks

30. Which of the following would be the subject of the text?

[A] A looming threat to business-method patents

[B] Protection for business-method patent holders

[C] A legal case regarding business-method patents

[D] A prevailing tread against business-method patents

Text 3

In his book The Tipping Point, Malcolm aladuell alques that social epidemics are dliven in large part by the acting of a tiny minority of special individuals, often called influentials, who are unusually informed, persuasive, or we connect. The idea is intuitively compelling, but it doesn’t explain how ideas actually spread.

The supposed importance of influentials derives from a plansible sounding but largely untested theory called the “tow-step flow of communication”. Information allows from the media to the influentials and from them to everyone else Marketers have embraced the two-step flow because it suggests that if they can just find and influence the influentials, those select people will do most of the work for them. The theory also seems to explain the sudden and unexpected popularity of people was wearing, promoting or developing whatever it is before anyone else paid attention. Anecdotal evidence of this kind fits nicely with the idea that only certain special people can drive trends.

In their recent work, however, some researchers have come up with the finding that influentials have far less impact on social epidemics than is generally supposed. In fact, they don’t seem to be required of all.

The researchers’ argument stems from a simple observing about social influence, with the exception of a few celebrities like Oprah Winfrey-whose outsize presence is primarily a function of media, not interpersonal, influence-even the most influential members of a population simply don’t interact with that many others. Yet it is precisely these non-celebring influentials who according to the two-step-flow theory, are supposed to drive social epidemics, by influcenciny their friends and colleagues directly. For a social epidemic to occur, however, each person so affected,must then influence his or her own acquaintances, who must in turn influence theirs, and so on; and just how many others pay attention to each of these people has little to do with initial influential. If people in the network just two degrees removed from the initial influential prove resistant, for example the casecade of change won’t propagate very far or affect many people.

Building on the basic truth about interpersonal influence, the researchers studied the dynamics of populations manipulating a number of variables relating to people’s ability to influence others and their tendencies to be.

31. By citing the book The Tipping Point, the author intends to

[A] analyze the consequences of social epidemics

[B] discuss influentials’ function in spreading ideas

[C] exemplify people’s intuitive response to social epidemics

[D] describe the essential characteristics of influentials

32. The author suggests that the “two-step-flow theory”

[A] serves as a solution to marketing problems

[B] has helped explain certain prevalent trends

[C] has won support from influentials

[D] requires solid evidence for its validity

33. What the researchers have observed recently shows that

[A] the power of influence goes with social interactions

[B] interpersonal links can be enhanced through the media

[C] influentials have more channels to reach the public

[D] most celebrities enjoy wide media attention

 34. The underlined phrase “these people” in paragraph 4 refers to the ones who

[A] stay outside the network of social influence

[B] have little contact with the source of influence

[C] are influenced and then influence others

[D] are influenced by the initial influential

 35. What is the essential element in the dynamics of social influence?

[A] The eagerness to be accepted

[B] The impulse to influence others

[C] The readiness to be influenced

[D] The inclination to rely on others

Text 4

Bankers have been blaming themselves for their troubles in public. Behind the scenes, they have been taking aim at someone else; the accounting standard-setters. Their rules, moan the banks, have forced them to report enormous losses, and it’s just not fair. These rules say they must valve some assets at the price a third party would pay, not the price managers and regulators would like them to fetch.

Unfortunately, banks’ lobbying now seems to be working. The details may be unknowable, but the independence of standard-setters, essential to the proper functioning of capital markets, is being compromised. And, unless banks carry toxic assets at prices that attract buyers, reviving the banking system will be difficult. After a bruising encounter with Congress, America’s Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) rushed through rule changes. These gave banks more freedom to use models to value illiquid assets and more flexibility in recognizing losses on long-term assets in their income statement. Bob Herz, the FASB’s chairman, cried out against those who “question our motives.” Yet bank shares rose and the changes enhance what one lobby group politely calls “the use of judgment by management.”

European ministers instantly demanded that the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) do likewise. The IASB says it does not want to act without overall planning, but the pressure to fold when it completes it reconstruction of rules later this year is strong. Charlie McCreevy, a European commissioner, warned the IASB that it did “not live in a political vacuum” but “in the real world” and that Europe could yet develop different rules.

It was banks that were on the wrong planet, with accounts that vastly overvalued assets. Today they argue that market prices overstate losses, because they largely reflect the temporary illiquidity of markets, not the likely extent of bad debts. The truth will not be known for years. But bank’s shares trade below their book value, suggesting that investors are skeptical. And dead markets partly reflect the paralysis of banks which will not sell assets for fear of booking losses, yet are reluctant to buy all those supposed bargains.

To get the system working again, losses must be recognized and dealt with. America’s new plan to buy up toxic assets will not work unless banks mark assets to levels which buyers find attractive. Successful markets require and even combative standard-setters. The FASB and IASB have been exactly that, cleaning up rules on stock options and pensions, for example, against hostility form special interests. But by giving in to critics now they are inviting pressure to make more concessions.

36. Bankers complained that they were forced to

[A] follow unfavorable asset evaluation rules

[B] collect payments from third parties

[C] cooperate with the price managers

[D] reevaluate some of their assets

37. According to the author, the rule changes of the FASB may result in

[A] the diminishing role of management

[B] the revival of the banking system

[C] the banks’ long-term asset losses

[D] the weakening of its independence

38. According to Paragraph 4, McCreevy objects to the IASB’s attempt to

[A] keep away from political influences.

[B] evade the pressure from their peers.

[C] act on their own in rule-setting.

[D] take gradual measures in reform.

39. The author thinks the bank were “on the wrong planet” in that they

[A] misinterpreted market price indicators

[B] exaggerated the real value of their assets.

[C] neglected the likely existence of bad debts.

[D] denied booking losses in their sale of assets.

40. The author’s attitude towards standard-setters is one of \

[A] satisfaction

[B] skepticism

[C] objectiveness

[D] sympathy

Part B

Directions:

For Questions 41-45, choose the most suitable paragraphs from the first A-G and fill them into the numbered boxed to from a coherent text. Paragraph E has been correctly placed. There is one paragraph which dose not fit in with the text. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET1. (10 points)

[A]The first and more important is the consumer’s growing preference for eating out: the consumption of food and drink in places other than hours has risen from about 32 percent of total consumption on 1995 to 35% in 2000 and is expected to approach 38% by 2005. This development is boosting wholesale demand from the food service segment by 4 to 5% a year as the recession is looming large, people are getting anxious. They tend keep a tighter hold on their purse and consider eating at home a realistic alternation

[B]Retail, sales of food and drink in Europe’s largest markets are at a standstill, leaving European grocery retailers hungry for opportunities to grow. Most leading retails have already tried e-commerce, with limited success, and expansion aboard. But almost all have ignored the big profitable opportunity in their own back yard: the wholesale food and drink trade, which appears to be just the kind of market retailers need.

[C]Will such variations bring about a change in overall structure of the food and drink market? Definitely not. The functioning of the market is base on flexible trends dominated by potential buyers. In other words, it is up to the buyer, rather than the seller, to decide. What to buy. At any rate, this change and international consumers, regardless of how long the current consumer pattern will take hold.

[D]All in all, this clearly seems to be a market in which big retailers could profitably apply their gigantic scale, existing infrastructure, and proven skills in the management of product ranges, logistics, and marketing intelligence. Retailers that master the intricacies of wholesaling in Europe may well expect to rank in substantial profits thereby. At last, that is how it looks as a whole. Closer inspection reveals important differences among the biggest nation market especially in their customer segment and wholesale structures, a as well as the competitive dynamics.

[E]Despite variations in detail, wholesale markets in the countries that have been closely examined — France, Germany, Italy, and Spain — are made out of the same building block. Demand mainly from two sources: in dependent mom—and –pop grocery stores which, unlike large retail chains, are too small to buy straight when they don’t eat at home. Such food service operators, but most of these businesses are known in the trade as “horeca”: hotels, restaurant and cafes. Overall, Europe’s wholesale market for food and drink is growing at the same sluggish pace as the retail market, but the figure when assed together, mask too opposing trends.

 [F]for example, wholesale food and drink sales came to ＄268 billion in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom in 2000 - more than 40 percent of retail sales. Moreover, average overall margins are higher in wholesale than in retail ; wholesale demand from the food service sector is growing quickly as more Europeans eat out more often ;and in the competitive dynamics of this fragmented industry are at last man it feasible for wholesalers to consolidate.

[G]However, none of these requirements should deter large retailers land even some large food producers and existing wholesalers, from trying their hand, foe those that master the intricacies of wholesaling in Europe stand to reap considerable gains.

Part C

Directions:

Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese. Your translation should be written carefully on ANSWER SHEET 2. (10 points)

One basic weakness in a conservation system based wholly on economic motives is that most members of the land community have no economic value. Yet these creatures are members of the biotic community and, if its stability depends on its integrity, they are entitled to continuance.

When one of these non-economic categories is threatened, and, if we happen to love it .We invent excuses to give it economic importance. At the beginning of century songbirds were supposed to be disappearing.(46) Scientists jumped to the rescue with some distinctly shaky evidence to the effect that insects would eat us up of birds failed to control them, the evidence had to be economic in order to be valid.

It is painful to read these round about accounts today .We have no land ethic yet, (47) but we have at least drawn nearer the point of admitting that birds should continue as a matter of intrinsic right, regardless of the presence or absence of economic advantage to us.

A parallel situation exists in respect of predatory mammals and fish-eating birds .(48) Time was when biologists somewhat overworked the evidence that these creatures preserve the health of game by killing the physically weak, or that they prey only on “worthless species.

Some species of trees have been read out of the party by economics-minded foresters because they grow too slowly, or have too low a sale vale to pay as timber crops (49) In Europe ,where forestry is ecologically more advanced ,the non-commercial tree species are recognized as members of native forest community ,to be preserved as such ,within reason.

To sum up: a system of conservation based solely on economic self-interest is hopelessly lopsided.(50) It tends to ignore, and thus eventually to eliminate, many elements in the land community that lack commercial value, but that are essential to its healthy functioning. Without the uneconomic pats.

Section Ⅲ Writing

Part A

51. Directions:

You are supposed to write for the postgraduate association a notice to recruit volunteers for an international conference on globalization, you should conclude the basic qualification of applicant and the other information you think relative.

You should write about 100 words. Do not sign your own name at the end of the letter. Use “postgraduate association” instead.

Part B

52. Directions:

Write an essay of 160-200 words based on the following drawing. In your essay, you should

1)  describe the drawing briefly,

2)  explain its intended meaning, and then

3)  give your comments.

You should write neatly on ANSWER SHEET 2. (20 points)