2015年中国矿业大学考博英语真题

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Part I Reading Comprehension (40 points, 50 minutes)

Directions: There are 5 passages in this part. Each passage is followed by four questions or statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on your ANSWER SHEET.

Passage One

The purpose of the American court system is to protect the rights of the people. According to American law, if someone is accused of a crime, he or she is considered innocent until the court proves that the person is guilty. In other words, it is the responsibility of the court to prove that a person is guilty. It is not the responsibility of the person to prove that he or she is innocent.

In order to arrest a person, the police have to be reasonably sure that a crime has been committed. The police must give the suspect the reasons why they are arresting him and tell him his rights under the law. Then the police take the suspect to the police station to “book” him. “Booking” means that the name of the person and the charges against him are formally listed at the police station.

The next step is for the suspect to go before a judge. The judge decides whether the suspect should be kept in jail or released. If the suspect has no previous criminal record and the judge feels that he will return to court rather than run away—for example, because he owns a house and has a family—he can go free. Otherwise, the suspect must put up bail. At this time, too, the judge will appoint a court layer to defend the suspect if he can’t afford one.

The suspect returns to court a week or two later. A lawyer from the district attorney’s office presents a case against the suspect. This is called a hearing. The attorney may present evidence as well as witnesses. The judge at the hearing then decides whether there is enough reason to hold a trial. If the judge decides that there is sufficient evidence to call for a trial, he or she sets a date for the suspect to appear in court to formally plead guilty or not guilty.

At the trial, a jury of 12 people listens to the evidence from both attorneys and hears the testimony of the witnesses. Then the jury goes into a private room to consider the evidence and decide whether the defendant is guilty of the crime. If the jury decides that the defendant is innocent, he goes free. However, if he is convicted, the judge sets a date for the defendant to appear in court again for sentencing. At this time, the judge tells the convicted person what his punishment will be. The judge may sentence him to prison, order him to pay a fine, or place him on probation.

The American justice system is very complex and sometimes operates slowly. However, every step is designed to protect the rights of the people. These individual rights are the basis, or foundation, of the American government.

1. What is the main idea of the passage?

A. The American court system requires that a suspect prove that he or she is innocent.

B. The US court system is designed to protect the rights of the people.

C. Under the American court system, judge decides if a suspect is innocent or guilty.

D. The US court system is designed to help the police present a case against the suspect.

2. What follows “in other words” (Para. 1)?

A. An example of the previous sentence.

B. A new idea about the court system.

C. An item of evidence to call for a trial.

D.   A restatement of the previous sentence.

3. According to the passage, “he can go free” (Para. 3) means .

A. the suspect is free to choose a lawyer to defend him

B • the suspect does not have to go to trial because the judge has decided he is innocent

C. the suspect will be informed by mail whether he is innocent or not

D • the suspect does not have to wait in jail or pay money until he goes to trial

4. What is the purpose of having the suspect pay bail?

A. To pay for the judge and the trial.

B. To pay for a court lawyer to defend the suspect.

C. To ensure that the suspect will return to court.

D. To ensure that the suspect will appear in prison.

Passage Two

During the two years that passed between the death of his father and his establishment in London, Gibbon had made a preliminary examination of the ground that must be covered in the history of the Roman Empire which he proposed to write. As soon as he had a house to himself, he started the actual work of writing, and composed and three times rewrote the first chapter, twice patiently recasting the second and third, before he was “tolerably satisfied” with the effect he had achieved, and the flow of composition became, paragraph by paragraph, more regular and rapid. We are told that, while composing, he walked to and fro across the library, and that the whole paragraph was complete when he finally regained his chair and resorted to pen and ink. The necessary reference, which he added later, he had already jotted down on cards. A friend suspected that he was working too fast; but Gibbon reassured him; the whole works, he said, had undergone a long and elaborate process of correction and revision; his “diligence and accuracy,” he afterwards told the world, were confirmed by his conscience. Thus he awaited the day of final publication

without undue anxiety. During February, 1775, the first volume of The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire appeared in the book-shops. His publishers had originally calculated on five hundred copies, but, with almost prophetic insight had increased this number to a thousand. The first edition to appear was immediately sold out, and two further editions were very soon exhausted. A great fit of fame seized on the modest author. His pride was immensely approved; but it would be idle to pretend that he was either ashamed or startled.

Besides, he had still far to go. For the next eleven years, though he never retired from the world and remained an attentive, if somewhat impassive, observer of the various revolutions of society and politics, the record of Gibbon’s life is very largely the record of his work’s development, as the original scheme gradually expanded through half of dozen volumes. Than the Decline and Fall there is probably no book of equal size and scope more thoroughly filled with the characteristic quality of a single man’s intelligence. It is not that the historian makes arbitrary of unjustified attacks into the pages of his history; he has no reason to impose himself, for, in fact, he is always there—not as a figure rising inappropriately between the reader and his subject, but as an influence that colors every scene, moderates the verbal rhythm of each successive period, and links episode to episode in the same harmonious pattern.

5. We learn from the passage the Gibbon .

A. was not satisfied with his work because he wrote too fast

B. made elaborate revision to his work

C. rewrote every chapter of his history

D. found it necessary to rewrite the work three times

6. Which of the following is NOT true as regards Gibbon’s writing methods?

A. Gibbon walked to and fro in the library while composing his paragraphs.

B. Gibbon did not have a chair in his library at the beginning of his writing.

C. When he took up his pen to write, Gibbon wrote the whole paragraph without stopping.

D. While composing his work, Gibbon took down the necessary reference to be added later.

7. On its first appearance the History .

A. was incomplete B. was undersold

C. sold 3,000 copies D. greatly surprised the author

8. The author considers that Gibbon .

A. made constant influence on his readers with his work

B. gave a very prejudiced picture on the reader

C. was himself a figure in the history he wrote

D. made several experiments in literary style

Passage Three

On the outskirts of the city, there is a business based on an understanding of probabilities. It is a jail alai fronton, a cavernous court where athletes play a fast game for the entertainment of gamblers and the benefit of, among others, the state treasury.

Not coincidentally, Connecticut is one of just seven states still fiercely determined not to have an income tax. Gambling taxes yielded $ 76.4 million last year, which is not a large slice of Connecticufs $2.1 billion budget, but it would be missed, and is growing.

Last year Americans legally wagered $ 15 billion, up 8 percent cover 1976. Lotteries took in 24 percent more. Stiffening resistance to taxes is encouraging states to seek revenues from gambling, and thus to encourage gambling. There are three rationalizations for this:

State-run gambling controls illegal gambling.

Gambling is a painless way to raise revenues.

Gambling is a “victimless” recreation, and thus is a matter of moral indifference.

Actually, there is evidence that legal gambling increases the respectability of gambling, and increases public interest in gambling. This creates new gamblers, some of whom move on to illegal gambling, which generally offers better odds. And as a revenue-raising device, gambling is severely regressive.

Gamblers are drawn disproportionately from minority and poor populations that can ill-afford to gamble, that are especially susceptible to the lure of gambling, and that especially need a government that will not collaborate with gambling entrepreneurs, as in jai alai, and that will not become a gambling entrepreneur through a state lottery.

A depressing number of gamblers have no margin for economic losses and little understanding

of the probability of losses. Between 1975 and 1977 there was a 140 percent increase in spending to advertise lotteries — lotteries in which more than 99.9 percent of all players are losers. Such advertising is apt to be especially effective, and cruel, among people whose tribulations make them susceptible to dreams of sudden relief.

Grocery money is risked for such relief. Some grocers in Hartford’s poorer neighborhoods report that receipts decline during jai alai season. Aside from the injury gamblers do to their dependents, there is a more subtle but more comprehensive injury done by gambling. It is the injury done to society’s sense of elemental equities. Gambling blurs the distinction between well-earned and “ill-gotten” gains.

Gambling is debased speculation, a lust for sudden wealth that is not connected with the process of making society more productive of goods and services. Government support of gambling gives a legitimating imprimatur to the pursuit of wealth without work.

“n is,” said Jefferson, “the manners and spirit of a people which preserves a republic in vigor.” Jefferson believed in the virtue-instilling effects of agricultural labor. Andrew Jackson denounced the Bank of the United States as a “monster” because increased credit creation meant increased speculation. Martin Van Buren warned against “a craving desire... for sudden wealth.” The early nineteenth century belief was that citizens could be distinguished by the moral worth of the way they acquired wealth; and physical labor was considered the most ennobling labor.

It is perhaps a bit late to worry about all this: the United States is a developed capitalist society of a sort Jefferson would have feared if he had been able to imagine it. But those who cherish capitalism should note that the moral weakness of capitalism derives, in part, from the belief that too much wealth is allocated in “speculative” ways, capriciously, to people who earn their bread neither by the sweat of their brows nor by wrinkling their brows for socially useful purpose.

Of course, any economy produces windfalls. As a town grows, some land values soar. And some investors (like many non-investors) regard stock trading as a form of roulette.

But state-sanctioned gambling institutionalizes windfalls, whets the public appetite for them, and encourages the delusion that they are more frequent than they really are. Thus do states simultaneously cheat and corrupt their citizens.

9. Which of the following sentences best summarizes the main idea of the passage?

A. Although some poor people lose money in state-run gambling, it has various benefits.

B. State-run gambling is no good because it encourages the pursuit of wealth without work.

C. State-run gambling makes people lose money and crave for gains without pains.

D. The United States is a developed capitalist society, so it is normal for wealth in it to be allocated in speculative ways.

10. The author mentions grocers’ receipt decline to .

A. show people are busy in jai alai season

B. make a distinction between well-earned and ill-gotten gains

C. show there is a more subtle but more comprehensive injury done by gambling

D. illustrate people lose money in jai alai season and cannot afford groceries

11. Why does the author use the phrase “a depressing number of gamblers” in the underlined sentence?

A. Because the gamblers are depressed.

B. Because the number of gamblers is decreasing.

C. Because the number of gamblers is large.

D. Because the gamblers are debased.

12. What is the essential tone of the passage?

A. Ironic. B. Humorous. C. Calm. D. Critical.

Passage  Four

The spectacular aurora light displays that appear in Earth’s atmosphere around the north and south magnetic poles were once mysterious phenomena. Now, scientists have data from satellites and ground-based observations from which we know that the aurora brilliance is an immense electrical discharge similar to that occurring in a neon sign.

To understand the cause of auroras, first picture the Earth enclosed by its magnetosphere, a huge region created by the Earth’s magnetic field. Outside the magnetosphere, blasting toward the earth is the solar wind, a swiftly moving plasma of ionized gases with its own magnetic filed. Charged particles in this solar wind speed earthward along the solar wind’s magnetic lines of force with a spiraling motion. The Earth’s magnetosphere is a barrier to the solar winds, and forces the charged particles of the solar wind to flow around the magnetosphere itself. But in the polar regions, the magnetic lines of force of the Earth and of the solar wind bunch together. Here many of the solar wind’s charged particles break through the magnetosphere and enter Earth’s magnetic field. They then spiral back and forth between the Earth’s magnetic poles very rapidly. In the polar regions, electrons from the solar wind ionize and excite the atoms and molecules of the upper atmosphere, causing them to emit aurora radiations of visible light.

The colors of an aurora depend on the atoms emitting them. The dominant greenish white light comes from low energy excitation of oxygen atoms. During huge magnetic storms oxygen atoms also undergo high energy excitation and emit crimson light. Excited nitrogen atoms contribute bands of color varying from blue to violet. Viewed from outer space, auroras can be seen as dimly glowing belts wrapped around each of the Earth’s magnetic poles. Each aurora hangs like a curtain of light stretching over the polar regions and into the higher latitudes. When the solar flares that result in magnetic storms and aurora activity are very intense, aurora displays may extend as far as the southern regions of the United States.

Studies of auroras have given physicists new information about the behavior of plasmas, which has helped to explain the nature of outer space and is being applied in attempts to harness energy from the fiision of atoms.

13. What does the passage mainly discuss?

A. The methods used to observe auroras from outer space.

B. The formation and appearance of auroras around the Earth’s poles.

C. The factors that cause the variety of colors in auroras.

D. The periodic variation in the display of auroras.

14. The passage describes the magnetosphere as a barrier (Line 9) because .

A. its position makes it difficult to be observed from Earth

B • it prevents particles from the solar wind from easily entering Earth’s atmosphere

C. it increases the speed of particles from the solar wind

D • it is strongest in the polar regions

15. Auroras maybe seen in the southern regions of the United States when •

A. magnetic storms do not affect Earth

B. solar flares are very intense

C. the speed of the solar wind is reduced

D. the excitation of atoms is low

16. The passage supports which of the following statements about scientists’ understanding of auroras?

A. Before advances in technology, including satellites, scientists knew little about auroras.

B. New knowledge about the fusion of atoms allowed scientists to learn more about auroras.

C. Scientists cannot explain the cause of the different colors in auroras.

D. Until scientists learn more about plasma physics, little knowledge about auroras will be available.

Passage Five

Today, we are going to be continuing our discussion of evolution, specifically how the forces of natural selection and environmental pressures interact. Last time we said that for any species the most important urge is to reproduce and ensure survival of the species. Now any organism has a set amount of energy it can’t devote to the task of reproduction to produce eggs, find a mate, rear its offspring, etc. But different species have different strategies for how they use that energy. Let’s look at two examples to clarify this. For this purpose we’ll compare two aquatic animals: the blue whale and the American shad.

The blue whale reproduces quite slowly. Females don’t reach sexual maturity until they are about ten years old. They take an entire year to give birth, and the calf is dependent on its mother for at least the next 6 months. That means at maximum, blue whales can reproduce once every two years, and it’s often more like every three years. In the context of this low birth rate, every calf is valuable, and a considerable amount of energy is devoted to caring for the calf and ensuring its survival.

The American shad reach sexual maturity in as little as three years. They breed every single year. And in one breeding season a female American shad may lay as many as 300,000 eggs. Of course, only a tiny fraction of these will survive to become mature shad themselves. After the female shad lays her eggs, she moves back into the ocean leaving her young to fend for themselves.

So blue whales and American shad employ entirely different reproductive strategies that kind of lie on opposite ends of the spectrum. Blue whales invest all of their energy into a small number of offspring, while American shad put their energy into reproducing in huge numbers but with a very low chance of survival into maturity.

Many other species follow one of these two reproductive strategies. Those that fit into the pattern of the blue whale are known as K-strategies, and those that reproduce in large numbers with low chances of survival for individual offspring are known as r-strategies. So what determines whether a species evolves to be a K-strategist or r-strategist? Well, it largely has to do with the environmental pressures that the species faces and how they fit into their overall habit.

Blue whales are the biggest organisms in the ocean, and as such they have no natural predators. What’s more, their large bodies mean that they can build up large reserves of fat to sustain them when food is scarce. As a result, a mature blue whale has a very good chance of survival from year to year. In fact，if a blue whale manages to survive its childhood and reach maturity, it will most likely continue to live until it either dies of disease or old age. What all this means is that the blue whale population tends to be pretty stable. It generally doesn’t experience massive or sudden

declines, or at least it didn’t until humans started disrupting its habitat.

American shad lead a much riskier existence. Even when they reach maturity they are preyed upon by a number of larger fish. Moreover, their population is much more susceptible to food shortage and mass starvation. But this is balanced out by the shad’s ability to reproduce quickly, but it can always bounce back.

17. What is the main topic of the passage?

A. Environments competition between K-strategists or r-strategists.

B. The reproductive strategies of various marine species.

C. How environmental influences affect the chances of survival for offspring.

D. Energy allocation in reproduction and the factors that influence it.

18. Which of the following is True of K-strategists?

A. They are generally large predators that prey on small species.

B. They invest most of their energy in a small number of strong offspring.

C. They generally have a high chance of survival once they reach maturity.

D. They are usually found in habitats with plentiful food resources.

19. Which of the following species is most likely to be an r-strategists?

A. The koala. B. The gorilla.

C. The kangaroo. D. The polar bear.

20. How does the passage explain why various species have evolved to be r-strategists or K-strategists?

A. By discussing the environmental pressures faced by various species.

B. By explaining the life cycles of r-strategists and K-strategists.

C. By discussing the evolutionary origins of several species.

D. By comparing the chances of survival between r-strategists and K-strategists.

Part II Use of English (10 points，20 minutes)

Directions: There are 20 blanks in the following passages. For each of the twenty blanks, there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that best fits into each blank, and then mark the corresponding letter on your ANSWER SHEET.

One of the most fascinating fields of psychology is memory. This passage is going to 21 a few things about how to classify and 22 memory.

One of the most common ways to 23 memory is based on time and duration of use. Typically, memory is divided into 24 types. Sensory memory holds information for only an instant, then it fades 25 • This is long enough to register an impression 26 one or more of

our five senses-sight, hearing, touch, smell, or taste. If you want to keep the information for longer than a second, you have to put it into your working memory 27 allows us to hold on to things for as long as we think about them. You continue holding the information in your memory 28 you got the final answer. It is something like a kind of 29 storage place. However, if working

memory 30 all we had, we would be very limited. Essentially working memory 31 between how we experience the environment and our long-term memory. The long-term memory is involved with 32 that is stored for 33 lengths of time. In fact, memory that is tested after about one minute behaves in a very similar way 34 memory tested after a day, a week, or even years,

35 many scientists believe that any memories more than one minute old are part of our long-term memory. Interestingly, in a sense, our memories change and become somewhat 36 ，

since our memory is designed to keep or preserve 37 .

There are three main 38 of measuring how much a person remembers. The first is to recall and see how much is remembered and forgotten. The second is recognition, which is more 39 . Recognition doesn’t require you to produce anything, and 40 , is easier than

remembering everything you saw. The third basic method is relearning. By measuring the time people need to relearn information, we can calculate how much information they have stored in

their long-term memories the first time.

21. A. say B. speak C. talk D. claim

22. A. group B. measure C. class D. identify

23. A. distinguish B. check C. display D. expand

24. A. two B. three C. four D. several

25. A. over B. up C. in D. away

26. A. on B. in C. of D. at

27. A. what B. that C. which D. while

28. A. as B. when C. until D. if

29. A. flexible B. permanent C. temptable D. temporary

30. A. is B. was C. were D. should be

31. A. mediates B. drifts C. intervenes D. prohibits

32. A. idea B. thought C. news D. information

33. A. considerate B. indefinite C. considerable D. universal

34. A. as B. to C. like D. for

35. A. so B. concerning C. since D. as long as

36. A. discarded B. facilitated C. replaced D. distorted

37. A. image B. meaning C. picture D. sentiment

38. A. sorts B. kinds C. ways， D. types

39. A. deceptive B. receptive C. deceitful D. empirical

40. A. nevertheless B. furthermore C. therefore D. on the contrary

Part DI Translation (30 points, 60 minutes)

Directions: In this part, there are three passages, two are in English and one is in Chinese. Read the passages carefully, and then translate the two passages in Engli

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