苏州大学2008年考博英语真题及答案（2）

苏州大学2008年考博英语真题及答案

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Ⅲ. Reading Comprehension: (40%)

Passage one

In science themeaning of the word “explain” suffers with civilization’s every step in searchof reality. Science cannot reallyexplain electricity, magnetism and gravitation: their effects can be measured and predicted but of their nature no more isknown to the modern scientist than to Thales who first looked into the natureof the electrification of amber, a hard yellowish brown gum. Most contemporaryphysicists reject the notion that man can ever discover what these mysteriousforces “really” are. “Electricity”, Bertrand Russell says, “isnot a thing like St. Paul’s Cathedral; it is a way in which things behave. Whenwe have told how things behave when they are electrified, and under what circumstancesthey are electrified we have told all there is to tell.” Until recentlyscientists would have disapproved of such an idea. Aristotle for example whosenatural science dominated Western thought for two thousand years, believed thatman could arrive at an understanding of reality by reasoning from self-evidentprinciples. He felt, for example, that it is a self-evident principal thateverything in the universe has its proper place, hence one can deduce thatobjects fall to the ground because that’s where they belong and smoke goes upbecause that’s where it belongs. The goal of Aristotelian science was toexplain why things happen. Modem science was born when Galileo began trying to explain how thingshappen and thus originated the method of controlled experiment which now formsthe basis of scientific investigation.

51. The aim of controlled scientific experiment is ________.

A. to explain why thingshappen

B. to explain how thingshappen

C. to describeself-evident principles

D. to support Aristotelianscience

52. What principalsmost influenced scientific thought for two thousand years?

A. The influence of St. Paul’s

B. The forces of electricitymagnetism and gravity

C. Aristotle’snatural science

D. Galileo’sdiscoveries.

53. Bertrand Russell’snotion about electricity is _______.

A. disapproved of bymost modem scientists

B. in agreement withAristotle’s theory of self-evident principles

C. in agreement withscientific investigation directed toward “how” things happen

D. in agreement with scientificinvestigation directed toward “why” things happen

54. The passage saysthat until recently scientists disagreed with the idea _______.

A. that there aremysterious forces in the universe

B. that man cannotdiscover what forces “really” are

C. that there are self-evidentprincipals

D. that we candiscover why things behave as they do

55. Modem sciencecame into being _______.

A. when the method ofcontrolled experiment was first introduced

B. when Galileosucceeded in explaining how things happen

C. when Aristotelianscientists tried to explain why things happen

D. when scientistswere able to acquire an understanding of reality

51. B 52. C 53. C 54. B 55. A

Passage Two

The case for college hasbeen accepted without question for more than a generation. All high schoolgraduates ought to go says conventional wisdom and statistical evidence becausecollege will help them earn more money become “better” people, and learn to bemore responsible citizens than those who don’t go.

But college has never beenable to work its magic for everyone. And now that close to half our high schoolgraduates are attending those who don’t fit the pattern are becomingmore numerous, and more obvious. College graduates are selling shoes anddriving taxis; college students interfere with each other’s experiments andwrite false letters of recommendation in the intense competition for admissionto graduate school. Others find no stimulation in their studies and drop out-often encouraged by collegeadministrators.

Some observers say thefault is with the young people themselves—they are spoiled and theyare expecting too much. But that’s a condemnation of the students as a whole,and doesn’t explain all campus unhappiness. Others blame the state of theworld, and they are partly right. We’ve been told that young people have to goto college because our economy can’t absorb an army of untrainedeighteen-year-olds. But disappointed graduates are learning that it can nolonger absorb an army of trained twenty-two-year-olds, either.

Some adventuresomeeducators and campus watchers have openly begun to suggest that college may notbe the best, the proper, the only place for every young person after thecompletion of high school. We may have been looking at all those surveys andstatistics upside down, it seems, and through the rosy glow of our ownremembered college experiences. Perhaps college doesn’t make peopleintelligent, ambitious, happy, liberal, or quick to learn things—maybe it’s just the other way around, and intelligent, ambitious, happy,liberal, quick-leaning people are merely the ones who have been attracted tocollege in the first place. And perhaps all those successful college graduateswould have been successful whether they had gone to college or not. This is heresyto those of us who have been brought up to believe that if a little schoolingis good, more has to be much better. But contrary evidence is beginning tomount up.

56. According to the author _______.

A. people used to question the value of college education

B. people used to have full confidence in higher education

C. all high school graduates chose to go to college

D. very few high school graduates chose to go tocollege

57. In the 2nd paragraph, “those who don’t fit the pattern”refers to _____.

A. high school graduates whoaren’t suitable for college education

B. college graduates who areselling shoes and driving taxis

C. college students who aren’t any better for theirhigher education

D. high school graduates who failed to be admitted tocollege

58. The drop-out rate of college students seems to goup because ______.

A. young people are disappointed with the conventionalway of teaching at college

B. many young people are required to join the army

C. young people have little motivation in pursuing ahigher education

D. young people don’t like the intense competition for admission tograduate school

59. According to the passage the problems of collegeeducation partly arise from the fact that _______.

A. society cannot provide enough jobs for properlytrained college graduates

B. high school graduates do not fit the pattern ofcollege education

C. too many students have to earn their own living

D. college administratorsencourage students to drop out

60. In this passage the author argues that ______.

A. more and more evidenceshows college education may not be the best thing for high school graduates

B. college education is notenough if one wants to be successful

C. college education benefitsonly the intelligent, ambitious, and quick-learning people

D. intelligent people maylearn quicker if they don’t go to college

56. B 57. C 58. C 59. A 60. A

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