2013年武汉大学考博英语真题

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Part I: Reading Comprehension (40%)

Directions： In this part for the test，there will be 5 passages for you to read. Each passage is followed by 4 questions or unfinished statement，and each question or unfinished statement is followed by four choices marked A，B，C and D. You are to decide on the best choice by blackening the corresponding letter on the ANSWER SHEET.

Passage 1

The changing profile of a city in the United States is apparent in the shifting definitions used by the United States Bureau of the Census. In 1870 the census official distinguished

the nation’s urban from its “rural” population for the first time. “Urban population” was defined as persons living in towns of 8，000 inhabitants or more. But after 1900 it meant persons living in incorporated places having 2，500 or more inhabitants. Then in 1950 the Census Bureau radically changed its definition of “urban” to account of the new vagueness of city boundaries. In addition to persons living incorporated units of 2，500 or more, the census now included those who lived in unincorporated units of that size, and also all persons living in the densely settled urban fringe, including both incorporated and unincorporated areas located around cities of 50，000 inhabitants or more. Each

such unit, conceived as an integrated economic and social unit with a large population nucleus was named a Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA).

Each SMSa would contain at least one central city with 50，000 inhabitants or more or two cities having shared boundaries and constituting, for general economic and social purposes, a single community with a combined population of at least 50，000, the smaller of which must have a population of at least 15，000. Such an area included the country in

which the central city is located, and adjacent countries that are found to be metropolitan in character arid economically and socially integrated with the country of the central city. By 1970，about two-thirds of the population of the United States was living in these urbanized areas, and of that figure more than half were living outside the central cities

While the Census Bureau and the United States government used the term SMSa (by 1969 there were 233 of them)，social scientists were also using new term to describe the elusive vaguely defined areas reaching out from what used to be simple “town” and ucitiesa host of terms came into use: “metropolitan regions”，“polynucleated population

groups”，“conurbations”，“metropolitan clusters”，“megalopolises”，and so on.

1. What does the passage mainly discuss?

A. How cities in the United States began and developed?

B.Solutions to overcrowding in cities

C. The changing definition of an urban area

D. How the United States Census Bureau conducts a census?

2. Prior to 1900, how many inhabitants would a town has to have before being defined as urban?

A. 500 B. 8, 000 C. 15, 000 D. 50, 000

3. According to the passage, why did the Census Bureau revise the definition of urban in 1950?

A. City borders had become less distinct.

B. Cities had undergone radical social change.

C. Elected officials could not agree on an acceptable definition.

D. New businesses had relocated to larger cities.

4. Which of the following is NOT true of an SMSA?

A. It has a population of at least 50, 000.

B. It can include a city’s outlying regions.

C. It can include unincorporated regions.

D. it consists of at least two cities.

Passage 2

The concept of obtaining fresh water from icebergs that are towed to populated areas and arid regions of the world was once treated as a joke more appropriate to cartoons than

real life. But now it is being considered quite seriously by many nation especially since scientists have warned that the human race will outgrow its flesh was supply faster than it runs

out of food.

Glaciers are as a possible source of fresh water that has been overlooked recently. Three-quarters of the Earth’s fresh water supply is still tied up in glacial ice, reservoir of untapped fresh water so immense that it could sustain all the rivers of the world for 1，000 years. Floating on the oceans every year are 7, 659 trillion metric tons ice encased in 10,000 icebergs that break away from the polar ice caps, more than ninety percent of them from Antarctica.

Huge glaciers that stretch over the shallow continental shelf give birth to icebergs throughout the year. Icebergs are not like sea ice, which is formed when the sea itself freezes； rather they are formed entirely on land, breaking off when glaciers spread over the sea. As they drift away from the Polar region, icebergs sometimes move mysteriously in a

direction opposite to the wind, pulled by subsurface currents. Because they melt more slowly than smaller pieces of ice, icebergs have been known to drift as far north as 35 de-

grees south of the equator in the Atlantic Ocean. To corral them and steer them to parts of the world where they are needed would not be too difficult. The difficulty arises in other technical matters, such as the prevention of rapid melting in warmer climates and the tunneling of fresh water to shore in great volume. But even if the icebergs lost half of their volume, the water they could provide would be far cheaper than that produced by desalination, or removing salt from water.

5. What is the main topic of the passage?

A. The movement of glaciers

B. Icebergs as a source of fresh water

C. Future water shortages

D. The future of the world’s rivers

6. How ale icebergs formed?

A. They bread off from glaciers.

B.Seawater freezes.

C. Rivers freeze.

D. Small pieces of flowing ice converge

7. With which of the following ideas would the author be likely to agree?

A. Towing icebergs to dry areas is economically possible.

B.Desalination of water is the best way to obtain drinking water.

C. Using water from icebergs is a very short-term solution to water shortages.

D. Icebergs could not be towed very far before they would melt.

8. It can be inferred from the passage that most icebergs .

A. become part of glaciers

B. drill toward the polar region

C. move in whichever direction the wind is blowing

D. melt in the oceans

Passage 3

There are two ways to create colors in a photograph. One method, called additive, sits with three basic colors and adds them together to produce some other color. The sec-

ond method, called subtractive, starts with white light (a mixture of all colors in the spectrum) by taking away some or all other colors, leaves the one desired.

In the additive method, separate colored lights combine to produce various other colors. The three additive primary colors are green, red, and blue (each proving about one third the wavelengths in the total spectrums). Mixed in varying proportions, they can produce all colors. Green and red light mix to produce yellow, red and blue light mix to pro-

duce magenta, green and blue mix to produce cyan. When equal parts of all three of these primary-colored beams of light overlap, the mixture appears white to the eye.

In the subtractive process colors are produced when dye (as in paint or color photograph materials) absorbs some wavelengths and so passes on only part of the spectra.

The subtractive primaries are cyan (a bluish green)，magenta (a purplish pink), and yellow； these are the pigments or dyes that absorb red, green, and blue wavelengths, respectively, thus subtracting them into white light. These dye colors are the complementary colors to the three additive primaries of red, green, and blue. Properly combined, the

subtractive primaries can absorb all colors of light, producing black. But, mixed in varying proportions, they too can produce any color in the spectrum.

Whether a particular color is obtained by adding colored lights together or by subtracting, some light from the total spectrum, the result looks the same to the eye. The additive

process was employed for early color photography. But the subtractive method, while requiring complex chemical techniques, has turned out to be more practical and is the basis

of all modern color films.

9. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the phrase “passes on” as used in paragraph 3?

A. Judges B.Let through C. Dies D. Goes over

10. Which of the following is NOt a pair of additive, and subtractive primary colors?

A. Yellow and blue B. Magenta and green

C. Black and white D. Cyan and red

11. What explanation is given for the use of the subtractive method in modem color films?

A. Subtractive colors are more realistic.

B.The subtractive process is more efficient.

C. Additive chemical techniques are too complex.

D. The additive process is still being developed.

12. How is the passage organized?

A. The reasons for a choice are explained in depth.

B. a general statement is justified by a series of historical examples.

C. Two basic causes are compared. .

D. Related processes are described one after the other.

Passage 4

The idea of humanoid robots is not new. They have been part of the imaginative landscape ever since Karl Capek，a Czech writer, first dreamed them up for his 1921 play Possum’s Universal Robots (The word robot comes from the Czech word “drudgery”，Roberta. )Since then, Hollywood has produced countless variations on to theme, from the sultry False Mona in Fritz Lang’s silent masterpiece Metropolis to the withering C3PO in Star Wars and the ruthless assassin of Terminator. Humanoid robots have walked into our col-

lective subconscious coloring our views of the future. But now Japan’s industrial giants are spending billions of yen to make such robots reality. Their new humanoids represent impressive feats of engineering: when Honda introduced Asimo, a four-foot robot that had been in development for some 15 years walked so fluidly that its white, articulated exterior seemed to conceal a human. Honda continues to make the machine faster, friendlier and more agile. Last October，when Asimo was inducted into the Robot Hall of Fame in Pittsburgh，it walked on to the stag and accepted its own plaque.

At two and a half feet tall, Sony’s QRIo is smaller and more toy-like than Asimo. It walks, understands small number of voice commands, and can navigate on its own. If it falls over, it gets up and resumes where it left off. It can even connect senselessly to the interpreter and broadcast what its camera eyes can see. In 2003，Sony demonstrated an upgraded QRIo Rat could run. Honda responded last December win a version of Asimo that runs at twice the speed.

In 2004, Toyota joined the fray win its own family of robots, called Partners, one of which is a four-foot humanoid that plays the trumpet. Its fingers work the instrument valves,

and it has mechanical lungs and artificial lips. Toyota hopes to over commercial version of the robot by 2010. This month, 50 Partner robots will act guides at Expo 2005 in Aichi, Ja-

pan. Despite their sudden proliferation, however，humanoids are still a mechanic minority. Most of the world’s robots are faceless, footless and mute. They are bolted the floors of

factories, stamping out car parts or welding pieces of metal, making more machines. According to the United Nations, business orders for industrial robots jumped 18% in the first

half of 2004. They may soon be outnumbered by domestic robots, such as self-navigating vacuum cleaners, lawn mowers and window washers, which at selling fast. But neither industrial nor domestic robots are humanoid.

13. In paragraph 1 the author introduces his topic by relating .

A. the idea of humanoid robots

B. Karl Capek’s creation of robots

C. Hollywood’s production of robot films

D. the origin of and popular movies about robots

14. Sony’s QRIo could perform all the following tasks EXCEPt .

A. walking earners freely

B. understanding some words uttered by people

C. finding its way

D. continuing walking after it stumbles

15. From the passage we may infer that Toyota’s Partner .

A. is much better than any other robots

B.is no more than a mechanic device

C. may be put into mass production

D. may speak like man

16. Judging from the context, this passage is probably written .

A. in 2004 B. in 2005 C. between 2003—2004 D. between 2004—2005

Passage 5

For years pediatricians didn’t worry much about heating hypertension in their patients. After all, kids grow so fast，it’s hard keeping up with their shoe size, let alone their blood

pressure. Sure, hypertension in adults places them at greater risk of heart attack and stroke. But nobody likes the idea of starting youngsters on blood-pressure medicine they could wind up taking the rest of their lives. Who knows what previously unheard-of side effects could crop up after five or six decades of daily use? The rationale has been: kids grow out of so many things maybe they’ll grow out of this too.

Now, though, comes word that high blood pressure can be destructive even in childhood. According to a recent report in the journal Circulation, 19 of 130 children with high blood pressure developed a dangerous thickening of the heart muscle that, in adults at least, has been linked to heart failure. “No one knows if this pattern holds true for younger patients as well，” says Dr. Stephen Daniels, a pediatric cardiologist who led the study at Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. “But if worrisome. ”

Who’s most at risk? Boys more than girls, especially boys who are overweight. Their heart works so hard to force blood through extra layers of fat that its walls grow denser. Then, after decades of straining it grows too big to pump blood very well. Fortunately the abnormal, thickening can be spotted by ultrasound. And in most case getting that blood

pressure under control through weight loss and exercise or, as a last resort, drug treatment allows the overworked muscle to shrink to normal size. How can you tell if yours are like the 670，000 American children ages 10 to 18 with high blood pressure? It’s not the sort of thing you can catch by putting your child’s arms in a cuff at the free monitoring station in your local grocery. You should have a test done by a doctor, who will consult special tables that indicate the normal range of blood pressure for a particular child’s age, height and sex. If the doctor finds an abnormal result he will repeat the test over a period of months to make sure the reading isn’t fake. He’ll also check, whether other conditions, like kidney disease, could be the sources of the trouble. Because hypertension can be hard to detect the National Heart, Lung Blood Institute recommends annual blood-pressure checks for every child over age 3.

About half the cases of hypertension stem directly from kids being overweight. And the problem is likely to grow. Over the past 30 years the proportion of children in to U. S. who

are overweight has doubled, from 5 % to 11%or 4. 7 million kids. You can keep your children from joining their ranks by clearing the junk food from your pantry and hooking you kids —the earlier the betters healthy, attractive snacks like fruits (try freezing grapes or carrot sticks with salsa). Not only will they lower your children’s blood pressure: these foods will also boost their immune system and unclog their plumbing. Meanwhile, make sure your kids spend more time on the playgroup than with their play station. Even if they don’t shed a pound, vigorous exercise will he keep their blood vessels nice and wide, lowering their blood pressure. And of course they’ll be more likely to eat light and exercise if you set a good example.

17. The word “ unclog’’ in the last paragraph can be replaced by .

A. fix B. clear C. hinder D. dismantle

18. By saying “it’s not the sort of thing you can catch by putting your child’s arm in a

cuff at the free monitoring station in your local grocery”，the writer implies .

A. hypertension is hard to detect.

B.children often revue to have their blood pressure tested.

C. you’ll have to pay a lot of money if you want to have your child’s blood pressure checked in a grocery.

D. in a local grocery, you are free to determine how to have your child’s blood pressure examined.

19. Which of the following is not suggested by the writer to control hypertension?

A. Drug Treatments B.Weight loss C. Exercise D. Overwork

20. We can conclude from the passage that .

A. children with hypertension are unlikely to suffer from heart attack and stroke.

B.parent’s blood pressure decides their children’s blood pressure.

C. besides overweight, there are other factors resulting in hypertension.

D. vigorous exercise sometimes will lead to heart trouble.

Part II: English-Chinese Translation (20%)

Directions: Read the following passage and there translate the underlined parts numbered from (1 ) to (4) , from English into Chinese. Please write your answer on the ANSWER SHEET.

[21 ] Half way through the semester in this market res㊀arch course at Roanok College last fall，only moments after announcing a policy of zero tolerance for cellphone use in the

classroom. Prof. Ali Nazemi heard a ring. Then he spotted a young man named Neil Roland fumbling with his phone，thing to turn it off before being caught. “Neil, can I see that phone?” Professor Nazemi said, more in a command than a question. The student surrendered it. Professor Nazemi opened his briefcase, produced a hammer and proceeded to smash the offending device. Throughout the classroom student faces went ashen.

“How am I going to call my Mom now?” Neil asked. As Professor Semi refuses to answer, a classmate offered, “You can sue. ’’

[22] One thing we should be clear about was the episode in his classroom had beer plotted and scripted ahead of time with Neil Noland part of the plot all along. The phone

was an ㊀xtra of his mother’s，its service contract long expired. Professor Nazemi, in a telephone interview last week, attested to the exasperation of countless teachers and professors in the computer era. Their permanent war of attrition with defiantly inattentive students has escalated from the pursuit of pigtail-pulling，spitballlobbing and notebook-doodling to a high-tech arsenal of laptops, cellphones, Blackberries and the like.

The poor school teacher or master now must compete with texting instant-messaging, Facebook, eBay YouTube, addictinggames. com and other poxes on pedagogy. “There are certain lines you shouldn’t cross,” the professor said. “If you start tolerating this stuff, it becomes the norm. The more you give, the more they take. Multitasking is good, but I want them to do more tasking in my class. ” [23] All the advances schools and colleges have made to supposedly enhance learning - supplying students with laptops equipping computer labs, creating wireless networks have instead enabled distraction. Perhaps attendance records should include a new category: present but otherwise engaged.

Naturally, there will be manly students and no small number of high-tech supporter ready to lay the blame on boring lessons. One of the great condemnations in education jar-

gon these days, after all, is the ^teacher-centered lesson”. [24] “I am so tired of that excuse,” said Professor 巳ugeja，may he live a long and fruitful life. “The idea that subject matter is boring is truly relative.巳oring as opposed to what? Buying shoes on ㊀巳ay? The fact is we’re not here to entertain. We’re here to stimu-

late the life of the mind. ” “Education requires contemplation,n he continued. “It requires critical thinking. What we may be doing now is training a generation of air-traffic controllers rather than scholars. And i do know I’m going to lose. M Not，one can only hope, without fight. In the end, as science-fiction writers have prophesied for years, the technology is bound to outwit the fallible human. What teacher or professor can possibly police room full of determined goof-offs while also delivering an engaging lesson?

Part III: Chinese-English Translation (20%)

Directions: Translate the following paragraphs from Chinese into English. Please write your answer on the ANSWER SHEET.

中国作为一个发展中，面临着发展经济和保护环境的双重任务。然而，我国人口众多，资源相对不足，经济规模越来越大，经济发展与资源和环境之间的矛盾日益突出。环境污染严重，生态状况恶化、资源耗费巨大、回收率低而导致环境破坏等问题，已成为中国经济保持可持续发展的瓶颈。从国情出发，中国在全面推进现代化进程中，已将环境保护视为一项基本国策，将实现经济可持续发展视为一项重要战略，同时在全国范围内开展污染防治工作和生态环境保护活动，环境恶化状况基本得到了控制。实践证明，我们协调经济发展和环境保护两者之间关系的做法是行之有效的。人类发展只有合理利用自然界，与自然界保持和谐关系，才能维持和发展人类所创造的闻名，才能与自然界共生共荣、协调发展。中国作为国际社会成员，在努力保护自己环境的同时，还积极参与国际环保事务，促进国际环保合作，并认真履行国际义务。所有这些都充分表明了中国政府和人民保护全球环境的诚意和决心。

Part IV: Short Essay Writing (20%)

Directions: You are to write a composition of no less than 200 words with the following information and do your composition on the ANSWER SHEET. You are to come up with the title for the essay.

Now many people enjoy E-mail and other people prefer face-to-face conversation.Which is better and why?

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