1998年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语试题真题(附带详细答案解析)

1998

年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语 试题

Section I Cloze Test

Directions:

For each numbered blank in the following passage, there are four choices marked [A], [B], [C],

and [D]. Choose the best one and mark your answer on

ANSWER SHEET 1

by blackening the

corresponding letter in the brackets with a pencil. (10 points)

Until recent

l

y most historians spoke very critically of the Industrial

Revolution. They1that in the long run industrialization greatly raised the standard of

living for the

2

man. But they insisted that its

3

results during the period from

1750 to 1850 were widespread poverty and misery for the

4

of the English

population.

5

contrast, they saw in the preceding hundred years from 1650 to

1750, when England was still a

6

agricultural country, a period of great abundance

and prosperity.

This view,

7

, is generally thought to be wrong. Specialists

8

history and

economics, have

9

two things: that the period from 1650 to 1750 was

10

by

great poverty, and that industrialization certainly did not worsen and may have

actually improved the conditions for the majority of the populace.

1.

［

A

］

admitted

［

B

］

believed

［

C

］

claimed

［

D

］

predicted

2.

［

A

］

plain

［

B

］

average

［

C

］

mean

［

D

］

normal

3.

［

A

］

momentary

［

B

］

prompt

［

C

］

instant

［

D

］

immediate

4.

［

A

］

bulk

［

B

］

host

［

C

］

gross

［

D

］

magnitude

5.

［

A

］

On

［

B

］

With

［

C

］

For

［

D

］

By

6.

［

A

］

broadly

［

B

］

thoroughly

［

C

］

generally

［

D

］

completely

7.

［

A

］

however

［

B

］

meanwhile

［

C

］

therefore

［

D

］

moreover

8.

［

A

］

at

［

B

］

in

［

C

］

about

［

D

］

for

9.

［

A

］

manifested

［

B

］

approved

［

C

］

shown

［

D

］

speculated

10.

［

A

］

noted

［

B

］

impressed

［

C

］

labeled

［

D

］

marked

Section

Ⅱ

Directions:

Each of the passages below is followed by some questions. For each question there are four

answers marked [A], [B], [C] and [D]. Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to

each of the questions. Then mark your answer on the

ANSWER SHEET 1

by blackening the

corresponding letter in the brackets. (40 points)

Reading Comprehension

Text 1

Few creations of big technology capture the imagination like giant dams. Perhaps it is

humankind?s long suffering at the

mercy of flood and drought that makes the idea of forcing the

waters to do our bidding so fascinating. But to be fascinated is also, sometimes, to be blind.

Several giant dam projects threaten to do more harm than good.

The lesson from dams is that big is

not always beautiful. It doesn?t help that building a big,

powerful dam has become a symbol of achievement for nations and people striving to assert

themselves. Egypt?s leadership in the Arab world was cemented by the Aswan High Dam.

Turkey?s bid for Firs

t World status includes the giant Ataturk Dam.

But big dams tend not to work as intended. The Aswan Dam, for example, stopped the Nile

flooding but deprived Egypt of the fertile silt that floods left -- all in return for a giant reservoir of

disease which is now so full of silt that it barely generates electricity.

And yet, the myth of controlling the waters persists. This week, in the heart of civilized

Europe, Slovaks and Hungarians stopped just short of sending in the troops in their contention

over a dam on the Danube. The huge complex will probably have all the usual problems of big

dams. But Slovakia is bidding for independence from the Czechs, and now needs a dam to prove

itself.

Meanwhile, in India, the World Bank has given the go-ahead to the even more wrong-headed

Narmada Dam. And the bank has done this even though its advisors say the dam will cause

hardship for the powerless and environmental destruction. The benefits are for the powerful, but

they are far from guaranteed.

Proper, scientific study of the impacts of dams and of the cost and benefits of controlling

water can help to resolve these conflicts. Hydroelectric power and flood control and irrigation are

possible without building monster dams. But when you are dealing with myths, it is hard to be

either proper, or scientific. It is time that the world learned the lessons of Aswan. You don?t need

a dam to be saved.

11.

The third sentence of Paragraph 1 implies that ________.

[A] people would be happy if they shut their eyes to reality

[B] the blind could be happier than the sighted

[C] over-excited people tend to neglect vital things

[D] fascination makes people lose their eyesight

12.

In Paragraph 5, “the powerless” probably refers to ________.

[A] areas short of electricity

[B] dams without power stations

[C] poor countries around India

[D] common people in the Narmada Dam area

13.

What is the myth concerning giant dams?

[A] They bring in more fertile soil.

[B] They help defend the country.

[C] They strengthen international ties.

[D] They have universal control of the waters.

14.

What the author tries to suggest may best be interpreted as ________.

[A] “It?s no use crying over spilt milk”

[B] “More haste, less speed”

[C] “Look before you leap”

[D] “He who laughs last laughs best”

Text 2

Well, no gain without pain, they say. But what about pain without gain? Everywhere you go

in America, you hear tales of corporate revival. What is harder to establish is whether the

productivity revolution that businessmen assume they are presiding over is for real.

The official statistics are mildly discouraging. They show that, if you lump manufacturing

and services together, productivity has grown on average by 1.2% since 1987. That is somewhat

faster than the average during the previous decade. And since 1991, productivity has increased by

about 2% a year, which is more than twice the 1978-87 average. The trouble is that part of the

recent acceleration is due to the usual rebound that occurs at this point in a business cycle, and so

is not conclusive evidence of a revival in the underlying trend. There is, as Robert Rubin, the

treasury sec

retary, says, a “disjunction” between the mass of business anecdote that points to a

leap in productivity and the picture reflected by the statistics.

Some of this can be easily explained. New ways of organizing the workplace -- all that

re-engineering and downsizing -- are only one contribution to the overall productivity of an

economy, which is driven by many other factors such as joint investment in equipment and

machinery, new technology, and investment in education and training. Moreover, most of the

changes that companies make are intended to keep them profitable, and this need not always mean

increasing productivity: switching to new markets or improving quality can matter just as much.

Two other explanations are more speculative. First, some of the business restructuring of

recent years may have been ineptly done. Second, even if it was well done, it may have spread

much less widely than people suppose.

Leonard Schlesinger, a Harvard academic and former chief executive of Au Bong Pain, a

rapidly growi

ng chain of bakery cafes, says that much “re

-

engineering” has been crude. In many

cases, he believes, the loss of revenue has been greater than the reductions in cost. His colleague,

Michael Beer, says that far too many companies have applied re-engineering in a mechanistic

fashion, chopping out costs without giving sufficient thought to long-

term profitability. BBDO?s

Al Rosenshine is blunter. He dismisses a lot of the work of re-engineering consultants as mere

rubbish --

“the worst sort of ambulance chasing.”

15.

According to the author, the American economic situation is ________.

[A] not as good as it seems

[B] at its turning point

[C] much better than it seems

[D] near to complete recovery

16.

The official statistics on productivity growth ________.

[A] exclude the usual rebound in a business cycle

[B] fall short of businessmen?s anticipation

[C] meet the expectation of business people

[D] fail to reflect the true state of economy

17.

The author raises the question “what about pain without gain?” because ________.

[A] he questions the truth of “no gain without pain”

[B] he does not think the productivity revolution works

[C] he wonders if the official statistics are misleading

[D] he has conclusive evidence for the revival of businesses

18.

Which of the following statements is NOT mentioned in the passage?

[A] Radical reforms are essential for the increase of productivity.

[B] New ways of organizing workplaces may help to increase productivity.

[C] The reduction of costs is not a sure way to gain long-term profitability.

[D] The consultants are a bunch of good-for- nothings.

Text 3

Science has long had an uneasy relationship with other aspects of culture. Think of

Gallileo’

s

17th-

century trial for his rebelling belief before the Catholic Church or poet William Blake?s harsh

remarks against the mechanistic worldview of Isaac Newton. The schism between science and the

humanities has, if anything, deepened in this century.

Until recently, the scientific community was so powerful that it could afford to ignore its

critics --

but no longer. As funding for science has declined, scientists have attacked “anti

-

science”

in several books, notably

Higher Superstition

, by Paul R. Gross, a biologist at the University of

Virginia, and Norman Levitt, a mathematician at Rutgers University; and

The Demon-Haunted

World

, by Carl Sagan of Cornell University.

Defenders of science have also voiced their concerns at meetings such as “The Flight from

Science and Reason,” held in New York City in 1995, and “Science in the Age of (Mis)

information,” which assembled last June near Buffalo.

Anti-science clearly means different things to different people. Gross and Levitt find fault

primarily with sociolog

ists, philosophers and other academics who have questioned science?s

objectivity. Sagan is more concerned with those who believe in ghosts, creationism and other

phenomena that contradict the scientific worldview.

A survey of news stories in 1996 reveals that the anti-science tag has been attached to many

other groups as well, from authorities who advocated the elimination of the last remaining stocks

of smallpox virus to Republicans who advocated decreased funding for basic research.

Few would dispute that the term applies to the Unabomber, whose manifesto, published in

1995, scorns science and longs for return to a pre-technological utopia. But surely that does not

mean environmentalists concerned about uncontrolled industrial growth are anti-science, as an

essay in

US News & World Report

last May seemed to suggest.

The environmentalists, inevitably, respond to such critics. The true enemies of science,

argues Paul Ehrlich of Stanford University, a pioneer of environmental studies, are those who

question the evidence supporting global warming, the depletion of the ozone layer and other

consequences of industrial growth.

Indeed, some observers fear that the anti-science epithet is in danger of becoming

meaningless. “The term ?anti

-

science? can lump together too many, quite different things,” notes

Harvard University philosopher Gerald Holton in his 1993 work

Science and Anti-Science

. “They

have in common only one thing that they tend to annoy or threaten those who regard themselves

as more enlightened.”

19.

Th

e word “schism” (Line 4, Paragraph 1) in the context probably means ________.

[A] confrontation

[B] dissatisfaction

[C] separation

[D] contempt

20.

Paragraphs 2 and 3 are written to ________.

[A] discuss the cause of the decline of science?s power

[B] s

how the author?s sympathy with scientists

[C] explain the way in which science develops

[D] exemplify the division of science and the humanities

21.

Which of the following is true according to the passage?

[A] Environmentalists were blamed for anti-science in an essay.

[B] Politicians are not subject to the labeling of anti-science.

[C] The “more enlightened” tend to tag others as anti

-science.

[D] Tagging environmentalists as “anti

-

science” is justifiable.

22.

The author?s attitude toward the issue of “science vs. anti

-

science” is ________.

[A] impartial

[B] subjective

[C] biased

[D] puzzling

Text 4

Emerging from the 1980 census is the picture of a nation developing more and more regional

competition, as population growth in the Northeast and Midwest reaches a near standstill.

This development -- and its strong implications for US politics and economy in years ahead

--

has enthroned the South as America?s most densely populated region for the first time in the

history of the nation?s head counting.

Altogether, the US population rose in the 1970s by 23.2 million people -- numerically the

third-largest growth ever recorded in a single decade. Even so, that gain adds up to only 11.4

percent, lowest in American annual records except for the Depression years.

Americans have been migrating south and west in larger numbers since World War II, and

the pattern still prevails.

Three sun-belt states -- Florida, Texas and California -- together had nearly 10 million more

people in 1980 than a decade earlier. Among large cities, San Diego moved from 14th to 8th and

San Antonio from 15th to 10th -- with Cleveland and Washington. D. C., dropping out of the top

10.

Not all that shift can be attributed to the movement out of the snow belt, census officials say.

Nonstop waves of immigrants played a role, too --

and so did bigger crops of babies as yesterday?s

“baby boom” generation reached its child bearing years.

Moreover, demographers see the continuing shift south and west as joined by a related but

newer phenomenon: More and more, Americans apparently are looking not just for places with

more jobs but with fewer people, too. Some instances

—

■

Regionally, the Rocky Mountain states reported the most rapid growth rate -- 37.1 percent

since 1970 in a vast area with only 5 percent of the US population.

■

Among states, Nevada and Arizona grew fastest of all: 63.5 and 53.1 percent respectively.

Except for Florida and Texas, the top 10 in rate of growth is composed of Western states with 7.5

million people -- about 9 per square mile.

The flight from overcrowdedness affects the migration from snow belt to more bearable

climates.

Nowhere do 1980 census statistics dramatize more the American search for spacious living

than in the Far West. There, California added 3.7 million to its population in the 1970s, more than

any other state.

In that decade, however, large numbers also migrated from California, mostly to other parts

of the West. Often they chose -- and still are choosing -- somewhat colder climates such as Oregon,

Idaho and Alaska in order to escape smog, crime and other plagues of urbanization in the Golden

State.

As a result, California?s growth rat

e dropped during the 1970s, to 18.5 percent -- little more

than two thirds the 1960s? growth figure and considerably below that of other Western states.

23.

Discerned from the perplexing picture of population growth the 1980 census provided,

America in 1970s ________.

[A] enjoyed the lowest net growth of population in history

[B] witnessed a southwestern shift of population

[C] underwent an unparalleled period of population growth

[D] brought to a standstill its pattern of migration since World War II

24.

The census distinguished itself from previous studies on population movement in that

________.

[A] it stresses the climatic influence on population distribution

[B] it highlights the contribution of continuous waves of immigrants

[C] it reveals the Ameri

cans? new pursuit of spacious living

[D] it elaborates the delayed effects of yesterday?s “baby boom”

25.

We can see from the available statistics that ________.

[A] California was once the most thinly populated area in the whole US

[B] the top 10 states in growth rate of population were all located in the West

[C] cities with better climates benefited unanimously from migration

[D] Arizona ranked second of all states in its growth rate of population

26.

The word “demographers” (Line 1, Paragraph 8) most probably means ________.

[A] people in favor of the trend of democracy

[B] advocates of migration between states

[C] scientists engaged in the study of population

[D] conservatives clinging to old patterns of life

Text 5

Scattered around the globe are more than 100 small regions of isolated volcanic activity

known to geologists as hot spots. Unlike most of the world?s volcanoes, they are not always found

at the boundaries of the great drifting plates that make up the earth?s surface; on the contrary,

many of them lie deep in the interior of a plate. Most of the hot spots move only slowly, and in

some cases the movement of the plates past them has left trails of dead volcanoes. The hot spots

and their volcanic trails are milestones that mark the passage of the plates.

That the plates are moving is now beyond dispute. Africa and South America, for example,

are moving away from each other as new material is injected into the sea floor between them. The

complementary coastlines and certain geological features that seem to span the ocean are

reminders of where the two continents were once joined. The relative motion of the plates carrying

these continents has been constructed in detail, but the motion of one plate with respect to another

cannot readily be translated into motion with respect to

the earth?s interior. It is not possible to

determine whether both continents are moving in opposite directions or whether one continent is

stationary and the other is drifting away from it. Hot spots, anchored in the deeper layers of the

earth, provide the measuring instruments needed to resolve the question. From an analysis of the

hot-spot population it appears that the African plate is stationary and that it has not moved during

the past 30 million years.

The significance of hot spots is not confined to their role as a frame of reference. It now

appears that they also have an important influence on the geophysical processes that propel the

plates across the globe. When a continental plate come to rest over a hot spot, the material rising

from deeper layers creates a broad dome. As the dome grows, it develops deep fissures (cracks); in

at least a few cases the continent may break entirely along some of these fissures, so that the hot

spot initiates the formation of a new ocean. Thus just as earlier theories have explained the

mobility of the continents, so hot spots may explain their mutability (inconstancy).

27.

The author believes that ________.

[A] the motion of the plates corresponds to that of the earth?s interior

[B] the geological theory about drifting plates has been proved to be true

[C] the hot spots and the plates move slowly in opposite directions

[D] the movement of hot spots proves the continents are moving apart

28.

That Africa and South America were once joined can be deduced from the fact that

________.

[A] the two continents are still moving in opposite directions

[B] they have been found to share certain geological features

[C] the African plate has been stable for 30 million years

[D] over 100 hot spots are scattered all around the globe

29.

The hot spot theory may prove useful in explaining ________.

[A] the structure of the African plates

[B] the revival of dead volcanoes

[C] the mobility of the continents

[D] the formation of new oceans

30.

The passage is mainly about ________.

[A] the features of volcanic activities

[B] the importance of the theory about drifting plates

[C] the significance of hot spots in geophysical studies

[D] the process of the formation of volcanoes

Section IV

Directions:

Read the following passage carefully and then translate the underlined sentences into Chinese.

Your translation must be written clearly on the

ANSWER SHEET 2

. (15 points)

English-Chinese Translation

They were, by far, the largest and most distant objects that scientists had ever detected: a strip

of enormous cosmic clouds some 15 billion light-years from earth. 31) But even more important,

it was the farthest that scientists had been able to look into the past, for what they were seeing

were the patterns and structures that existed 15 billion years ago. That was just about the moment

that the universe was born. What the researchers found was at once both amazing and expected:

the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration?s Cosmic Background Explorer satellite

--

Cobe -- had discovered landmark evidence that the universe did in fact begin with the primeval

explosion that has become known as the Big Bang (the theory that the universe originated in an

explosion from a single mass of energy).

32) The existence of the giant clouds was virtually required for the Big Bang, first put

forward in the 1920s, to maintain its reign as the dominant explanation of the cosmos. According

to the theory, the universe burst into being as a submicroscopic, unimaginably dense knot of pure

energy that flew outward in all directions, emitting radiation as it went, condensing into particles

and then into atoms of gas. Over billions of years, the gas was compressed by gravity into galaxies,

stars, plants and eventually, even humans.

Cobe is designed to see just the biggest structures, but astronomers

would

like

to

see

much

smaller

hot

spots

as

well,

the

seeds

of

local

objects

like clusters and superclusters of galaxies. They shouldn?t have long to wait. 33)

Astrophysicists

working with ground-based detectors at the South Pole and balloon-borne instruments are closing

in on such structures, and may report their findings soon.

34) If the small hot spots look as expected, that will be a triumph for yet another scientific

idea, a refinement of the Big Bang called the inflationary universe theory. Inflation says that very

early on, the universe expanded in size by more than a trillion trillion trillion

trillion

fold in much

less than a second, propelled by a sort of antigravity. 35) Odd though it sounds, cosmic inflation is

a scientifically plausible consequence of some respected ideas in elementary particle physics, and

many astrophysicists have been convinced for the better part of a decade that it is true.

31.

________

32.

________

33.

________

34.

________

35.

________

Section V

Directions:

[A] Study the following cartoon carefully and write an essay in no less than 150 words.

[B] Your essay must be written clearly on the

ANSWER SHEET 2

. (15 points)

[C] Your essay should meet the requirements below:

Writing

1. Write out the messages conveyed by the cartoon.

2. Give your commentsn.

1. A

10. D

2. B

1998

年英语试题答案

Part

Ⅰ

Cloze Test

3. D

4

. A

5. D

6. D

7. A

8.B

9. C

Part

Ⅱ

Reading Comprehension

Part A

Passage 1

11. C

12. D

13.D

14. C

Passage 2

15.A

16.B

17.B

18.A

Passage 3

19.C

20.D

21.A

22.A

Passage 4

23.B

24.C

25.D

26.C

Passage 5

27.B

28.B

29.C

30.C

Part

Ⅲ

English

-

Chinese Translation

31.

更为重要的是，

这是科学家们能够观测到的最遥远的过去的景象，

因为他

们看到的是

150

亿年前宇宙云的形状和结构。