-
TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS(2015)
GRADE EIGHT
TIME
LIMIT
：
195 MIN
PART I
LISTENING COMPREHENSION (35
MIN)
SECTION A
MINI-LECTURE
In
this
section
you
will
hear
a
mini-lecture
．
You
will
hear
the
lecture
ONCE
ONL
Y
.
While
listening, take notes
on the important points
．
Your
notes will not be marked, but you will need
them to complete a gap-filling task
after the mini-lecture
．
When
the lecture is over, you will be
given
two minutes to check your notes, and another ten
minutes to complete the gap-filling task on
ANSWER SHEET ONE, using no more than
three words in each gap
．
Make
sure the word(s) you
fill in is
(are)both grammatically and semantically
acceptable
．
You may refer to
your notes while
completing the
task
．
Use the blank sheet for
note-taking
．
Now, listen to
the mini-lecture
．
Understanding Academic
Lectures
Listening to
academic lectures is an important task fro
university students.
Then, how can we
comprehend a lecture efficiently?
I.
Understand all
(1) ______________
A.
words
B.
(2) ______________
-stress
-intonation
-(3)
______________
II. Adding information
A.
lecturers:
sharing information with audience
B.
listeners: (4)
______________
C.
sources of information
-knowledge of (5) ______________
-(6) ______________ of the world
D. listening
involving three steps:
-hearing
-(7) ______________
-adding
III. (8)
______________
A.
reasons:
-overcome noise
-save time
B. (9) ______________
-content
-organization
IV
.
Evaluating while listening
A.
helps to
decide the (10) ______________ of notes
B.
helps to
remember information
SECTION B
INTERVIEW
In
this
section
you
will
hear
everything
ONCE
ONLY
.
Listen
carefully
and
then
answer
the
questions that
follow
．
Mark the best answer
to each question on ANSWER SHEET
TWO
．
Questions
1
to
5
are
based on
an
interview
．
At
the
end
of
the
interview
you
will
be
given
10
seconds to answer each of
the following five
questions
．
Now listen to the
interview
．
1. Theresa thinks that the present
government is ________.
[A]
doing what they have promised to
schools
[B]
creating
opportunities for leading universities
[C]
considering removing
barriers for state school pupils
[D]
reducing opportunities for state school
pupils
2. What does Theresa
see as a problem in secondary schools now?
[A]
Universities are not
working hard to accept state school pupils.
[B]
The number of state
pupils applying to Oxford fails to increase.
[C]
The government has
lowered state pupils’ expectations.
[D]
Leading universities are
rejecting state school pupils.
3. In Theresa’s view, school freedom
m
eans that schools should ____.
[A]
be given
more funding from education authorities
[B]
be given all
the money and decide how to spend it
[C]
be granted
greater power to run themselves
[D]
be given more opportunities
and choices
4. According to
Theresa, who decides or decide money for schools
at the present?
[A] Local education
authorities and the central government.
[B] Local education authorities and
secondary schools together.
[C] Local
education authorities only.
[D] The
central government only.
5.
Throughout
the talk, the interviewer does all the following
EXCEPT ____.
[A]
asking for
clarification
[B]
challenging the interviewee
[C]
supporting the
interviewee
[D]
initiating
topics
SECTION C
NEWS BROADCAST
In
this
section
you
will
hear
everything
ONCE
ONLY
．
Listen
carefully
and
then
answer
the
questions that
follow
．
Mark the best answer
to each question on ANSWER SHEET
TWO
．
Questions 6
and 7 are based on thefollowing news,At the end
ofthe news item,you will be given
20
seconds to answer the
questions
．
Now listen to the
news
．
News Item 1
6.
What is the main idea of the news item?
[A]
Fewer people watch TV
once a week.
[B]
Smartphones
and tablets have replaced TV
.
[C]
New technology has led
to more family time.
[D]
Bigger TV sets have attracted more
people.
News Item
2
7. How many lawmakers
voted for the marijuana legalization bill?
[A]
50.
[B]
12.
[C]
46.
[D] 18.
8.
The passing of the bill means that
marijuana can be________.
[A]
bought by people under 18
[B]
made available to drug
addicts
[C]
provided by the
government
[D]
bought in
drug stores
News Item
3
9.
What did the
review of global data reveal?
[A]Diarrhea is a common disease.
[B]Good sanitation led to increase in
height.
[C]There were many problems of
poor sanitation.
[D] African children
live in worse sanitary conditions.
10.
The purpose of Dr. Alan
Dangour’s study was most likely to
________.
[A]
examine links between sanitation and
death from illness
[B]
look
into factors affecting the growth of children
[C]
investigate how to
tackle symptoms like diarrhea
[D]
review and compare conditions in
different countries
PART II
READING COMPREHENSION (30 MIN)
In
this
section
there
arefourreadingpassagesfollowedby
a
totalof20
multiple-choice
questions.
Read the passages and then mark the
best answer to each question on ANSWER SHEET
TWO
．
TEXT
A
In 2011, many
shoppers chose to avoid the frantic crowds and do
their holiday shopping from
the comfort
of their computer. Sales at online retailers
gained by more than 15%, making
it the
biggest season ever. But people are
also returning those purchases at record rates, up
8% from last
year.
What went
wrong? Is the lingering shadow of the global
financial crisis making it harder to
accept extravagant indulgences? Or that
people shop more impulsively - and therefore make
bad
decisions - when online? Both
arguments are plausible. However, there is a third
factor: a question
of
touch.
We
can
love
the
look
but,
in
an
online
environment,
we
cannot
feel
the
quality
of
a
texture, the shape of the fit, the fall
of a fold or, for
that
matter, the weight of an
earring. And
physically
interacting with an object makes you more
committed .
When my most recent book
Brandwashed was released, I teamed up with a local
bookstore to
conduct an experiment
about the differences between the online and
offline shopping experience. I
carefully instructed a group of
volunteers to promote my book in two different
ways. The first was
a
fairly
hands-off
approach.
Whenever
a
customer
would
inquire
about
my
book,
the
volunteer
would take them
over to the shelf and point to it. Out of 20 such
requests, six customers proceeded
with
the purchase.
The second option also
involved going over to the shelf but, this time,
removing the book and
then subtly
holding onto it for just an extra moment before
placing it in the customer's hands. Of
the 20 people who were handed the book.
13 ended up buying it. Just physically passing the
book
showed a big difference in sales.
Why? We feel something similar to a sense of
ownership when
we
hold
things
in
our
hand.
That's
why
we
establish
or
reestablish
connection
by
greeting
strangers and friends with a handshake.
In this case, having to then let go of the book
after holding
it might generate a
subtle sense of loss, and motivate us to make the
purchase even more.
A recent study also
revealed the power of touch, in this case when it
came to conventional mail. A
deeper
and
longer-lasting
impression
of
a
message
was
formed
when
delivered
in
a
letter,
as
opposed to receiving the same message
online. Brain imaging showed that, on touching the
paper,
the
emotional
center
of
the
brain
was
activated,
thus
forming
a
stronger
bond.
The
study
also
indicated that once touch becomes part
of the process, it could translate into a sense of
possession.
This sense of ownership is
simply not part of the equation in the online
shopping experience.
As the rituals of purchase
in the lead-up to Christmas change, not only do we
give less thought
to
the
type
of
gifts
we
buy
for
our
loved
ones
but,
through
our
own
digital
wish
lists,
we
increasingly control what they buy for
us. The reality, however, is that no matter how
convinced
we all are that digital is
the way to go, finding real satisfaction will
probably take more than a few
simple
clicks.
11. According to
the author, shoppers are returning their purchases
for all the following reasons
EXCEPT
that ____.
[A] they are unsatisfied
with the quality of the purchase
[B]they eventually find the purchase
too expensive
[C] they change their
mind out of uncertainty
[D] they regret
making the purchase without forethought
12. What is the purpose of
the experiment in the bookstore?
[A] To
see which promotion method is preferred by
customers.
[B]To find out the strengths
and weaknesses of both methods.
[C] To
try to set up a new retailer-customer
relationship.
[D] To see the effect of
an approach on customers' decisions.
13. Why does the author cite the study
by Bangor University and the Royal Mail Service?
[A]To compare similar responses in
different settings.
[B] To provide
further evidence for his own observation.
[C] To offer a scientific account of
the brain's functions.
[D] To describe
emotional responses in online shopping.
14. What can be inferred
from the last paragraph?
[A]Real
satisfaction depends on factors other than the
computer.
[B] Despite online shopping
we still attach importance to gift buying.
[C] Some people are still uncertain
about the digital age.
[D] Online
shopping offers real satisfaction to shoppers.
Text
B
My
professor
brother
and
I
have
an
argument
about
head
and
heart
about
whether
he
overvalues IQ while I learn more toward
EQ. We typically have this debate about
people
—
can we
be
friends with a really smart jerk
（怪物）
?
—
but
there
’
s corollary to animals
as well. I
’
d love it if
our dog could fetch the morning paper
and then read it to me over coffee, but I actually
care much
more about her loyal and
innocent heart. There
’
s
already enough thinking going on is our house,
and
we
probably
spend
too
much
time
in
our
heads,
where
we
need
some
role
modeling
is
in
instinct, and
that
’
s where a dog is a
roving revelation.
I did not grow
up with dogs, which meant that my older
daughter
’
s respectful but
unyielding
determination to get one
required some adjustment on my part. I often felt
she was training me:
from ages of 6 to
9, she gently schooled me in various breeds and
their personalities, whispered to
the
dogs we encountered so they would charm and
persuade me, demonstrated by her self-displine
that
she
was
ready
for
the
responsibility.
And
thus
came
our
dog
Twist,
whom
I
sometimes
mistake for a third daughter.
At first I thought the challenge would
be to train her to sit, to heel, to walk calmly
beside us and
not go wildly chasing the
neighbourhood rabbits. But I soon discovered how
much more we had to
learn from her than
she from us.
If
it
is
true,
for
example,
that
the
secret
to
a
child
’
s
success
is
less
rare
genius
than
raw
persistence,
Twist
’
s ability to stay on
task is a model for us all, especially if the task
is trying to
capture the sunbeam that
flicks around the living room as the wind blows
through the branches
outside.
She
never
succeeds,
and
she
never
gives
up.
This
includes
when
she
runs
square
into
walls.
Then
there
is
her
unfailing
patience,
which
breaks
down
only
when
she
senses
that
dinnertime
was
15
minutes
ago
and
we
have
somehow
failed
to
notice.
Even
then
she
is
more
eager
than indignant, and her refusal to whine shows a
restraint of which I
’
m not
always capable
when hungry.
But the lesson I value most is the one
in forgiveness, and Twist first offered this when
she
was still very young. When she was
about 7 months old, we took her to the vet to be
sprayed(
切除
卵巢
). We
turned her over to a stranger, who procceeded to
perform a procedure that was probably
not pleasant, But when the vet returned
her to us, limp and tender, there was no recrimina
tion(
反
责
)
，
no
how
could
you
do
that
to
me?
It
was
as
though
she
really
knew
that
we
could
not
intentionally cause her
pain, and while she did not understand, she
forgave and curled up with her
head on
my daughter
’
s lap.
I suppose we could have concluded that
she was just blindly loyal and docile. But
eventually
we knew better. She is
entirely capable of disobedience, as she has
proved many times. She will
ignore us
when there are more interesting things to look at,
rebuke us when we are careless, bark
into
the
twilight
when
she
has
urgent
messages
to
send.
But
her
patience
with
our
failings
and
frickleness and her willingness to give
us a scond chance are a daily lesson in gratitude.
My friends who grew up with dogs tell
me how when they were teenagers and trusted no one
in the world, they could tell their dog
all their secrets. It was the one friend who would
not gossip
or betray, could provide in
the middle of the night the soft, unbegrudging
comfort and peace that
adolescence
conspires to disrupt. An age that is all about
growth and risk needs some anchors and
weigths,
a
model
of
steadfastness
when
all
else
is
in
flux.
Sometimes
I
think
Twist
’
s
devotion
keeps
my
girls
on
a
benevolent
lash,
one
that
hangs
quietly
at
their
side
as
they
trot
along
but
occasionally yanks them back to safety
and solid ground.
We
’
ve weighed so
many decisions so carefully in raising our
daughters
—
what school to
send
them to and what church to attend,
when to give them cell phones and with what
precautions. But
when
it
comes
to
what
really
shapes
their
character
and
binds
our
family,
I
never
would
have
thought we would owe so much to its
smallest member.
15. In the
first paragraph, the author suggests that____.
[A]a person can either have a high IQ
or a low EQ
[B]her professor brother
cares too much about
IQ
[C]we need examples of how to follow
one's heart
[D]she prefers dogs that
are clever and loyal
16.
According to the passage, all the following are
Twist's characteristics EXCEPT____.
[A]resignation
[B]patience
[C]forgiveness
[D]tenacity
17. According to the
context, the meaning of the word
[A]fast
[B]blindly
[C]straight
[D]stubbornly
ist's devotion keeps my girls on a
benevolent leash means that____.
[A]Twist is capable of looking after
the girls
[B]Twist and the
girls have become friends
[C]Twist knows how to follow the girls
[D]Twist's loyalty helps
the girls grow up
19. What
does the author try to express in the last
paragraph?
[A]Difficulties
in raising her children.
[B]Worries about what to buy for kids.
[C]Gratitude to Twist for
her role.
[D]Concerns about
schooling and religion.
Text
C
Most West African lorries ate not in
what one would call the first flush of youth, and
I had
learnt by bitter experience not
to expect anything very much of them. But the
lorry that arrived
to take me up to the
mountains was worse than anything I had seen
before: it tottered on the
borders of
senile decay. It stood there on buckled wheels,
wheezing and gasping with exhaustion
from having to climb up the gentle
slope to the camp, and I consigned myself and my
loads to it
with some trepidation. The
driver, who was a cheerful fellow, pointed out
that he would require
my assistance in
two very necessary operations: first, I had to
keep the hand brake pressed down
when
travelling
downhill,
for
unless
it
was
held
thus
almost
level
with
the
floor
it
sullenly
refused
to
function.
Secondly,
I
had
to
keep
a
stern
eye
on
the
clutch,
a
wilful
piece
of
mechanism,
that
seized
every
chance
to
leap
out
of
its
socket
with
a
noise
like
a
strangling
leopard.
As
it
was
obvious
that
not
even
a
West
African
lorry
driver
could
be
successful
in
driving while crouched under the
dashboard in a pre-natal position, I had to take
over control of
these instruments if I
valued my life. So, while I ducked at intervals to
put on the brake, amid
the
rich
smell
of
burning
rubber,
our
noble
lorry
jerked
its
way
towards
the
mountains
at
a
steady twenty miles per hour;
sometimes, when a downward slope favoured it, it
threw caution
to the winds and careered
along in a madcap fashion at twenty-five.
For
the first thirty
miles the red earth
road wound its way through the lowland forest, the
giant trees standing in solid ranks
alongside and their branches entwined in an
archway of leaves
above us. Flocks of
hornbills flapped across the road, honking like
the ghosts of ancient taxis,
and on the
banks, draped decoratively in the patches of
sunlight, the agama lizards lay, blushing
into
sunset
colouring
with
excitement
and
nodding
their
heads
furiously.
Slowly
and
almost
imperceptibly
the
road
started
to
climb
upwards,
looping
its
way
in
languid
curves
round
the
forested hills. In the back of the
lorry the boys lifted up their voices in song:
Home again, home again, When shall I
see ma home? When shall I see ma mammy? I'll
never forget ma home . . .
The
driver hummed the refrain softly to himself,
glancing at me to see if I would object. To
his surprise I joined in, and so while
the lorry rolled onwards trailing a swirling tail
of red dust
behind it, the boys in the
back maintained the chorus while the driver and I
harmonized and sang
complicated twiddly
bits, and the driver played a staccato
accompaniment on the horn.
Breaks in the
forest became more frequent the higher we climbed,
and presently a new type
of
undergrowth
began
to
appear:
massive
tree-ferns
standing
in
conspiratorial
groups
at
the
roadside
on their thick, squat, and hairy trunks, the
fronds of leaves sprouting from the tops like
delicate green fountains. These ferns
were the guardians of a new world, for suddenly,
as though
the hills had shrugged
themselves free ofcloak, the forest disappeared.
It lay behind us in the
valley, a thick
pelt of green undulating away into the heat-
shimmered distance, while above us
the
hillside rose majestically, covered in a coat of
rippling, waist-high grass, bleached golden by
the
sun.
The
lorry
crept
higher
and
higher,
the
engine
gasping
and
shuddering
with
this
unaccustomed activity. I began to think
that we should have to push the wretched thing up
the
last two or three hundred feet, but
to everyone's surprise we made it, and the lorry
crept on to the
brow of the hill,
trembling with fatigue, spouting steam from its
radiator like a dying whale. We
crawled
to a standstill and the driver switched off the
engine.
―
We must wait small-
time, engine get hot, he explained, pointing to
the forequarters of the
lorry, which
were by now completely invisible under a cloud of
steam. Thankfully I descended
from
the
red-hot
inside
of
the
cab
and
strolled
down
to
where
the
road
dipped
into
the
next
valley. From this vantage point I could
see the country we had travelled through and the
country
we were about to enter.
20. That it tottered on the
borders of senile decay means that the lorry
was_________.
about to break down
a very old vehicle
unable to
travel the distance
[D]
a dangerous vehicle
Which of the following
words in the first paragraph is used literally?
Flush.
Borders.
Operations.
Gasping.
We
learn
from
the
first
paragraph
that
the
author
regards
the
inadequacies
of
the
lorry
as
_________.
[A]
inevitable and amusing
[B].
dangerous and frightening
[C] novel and unexpected
[D]
welcome and interesting
23.
All the
following words in the last but one paragraph
describe the lorry as a human
EXCEPT .
trembling
spouting
shuddering
crept
24. We can infer from the
passage that the author was ________.
bored by the appearance of the
grasslands ahead
reluctant to do any
walking in so hot a climate
unfriendly
towards the local driver and boys
a
little surprised to have to help drive the lorry
25. A suitable title for
the passage would be _______.
A journey that scared me
A
journey to remember
The wild West
African lorry
A comic journey in West
Africa
Text
D
Have you ever noticed a
certain similarity in public parks and back
gardens in the cities of
the
West?
A
ubiquitous
woodland
mix
of
lawn
grasses
and
trees
has
found
its
way
throughout
Europe and the United States,
and it’s now spread to other cities
around the world. As ecologist
Peter
Groffman
has
noted,
it's
increasingly
difficult
to
tell
one
suburb
apart
from
another,
even
when they're located in
vastly different climates such as Phoenix,
Arizona, or Boston in the much
chillier
north-east of the US. And why do parks in New
Zealand often feature the same species of
trees that grow on the other side of
the world in the UK?
Inspired by the
English and New England countrysides, early
landscape architects of the 19th
Century such as Andrew Jackson Downing
and Frederick Law Olmstead created an aesthetic
for
urban public and private open space
that persists to this day. But in the 21st
Century, urban green
space is tasked
with doing far more than simply providing
aesthetic appeal. From natural systems
to deal with surface water run-off and
pollution to green corridors to increasing
interest in urban
food production, the
urban parks of the future will be designed and
engineered for functionality as
well as
for beauty.
Imagine travelling among
the cities of the mid-21st Century and finding a
unique set of urban
landscapes that
capture local beauty, natural and cultural
history, and the environmental context.
They are tuned to their locality, and
diverse within as well as across cities. There are
patches that
provide
shade
and
cooling,
places
of
local
food
production,
and
corridors
that
connect
both
residents
and
wildlife
to
the
surrounding
native
environment.
Their
functions
are
measured
and
monitored to meet the unique needs of
each city for food production, water use, nutrient
recycling,
and habitat. No two green
spaces are quite the same.
Planners
are
already
starting
to
work
towards
this
vision.
And
if
this
movement
has
a
buzzword
it
is
―hyperfunctionality‖
–
designs
which
provide
multiple
uses
in
a
confined
space,
and a term coined by Richard Pouyat of
the US Forest Service. At the moment, urban
landscapes
are highly managed and
limited in their spatial extent. Even the
contain extensive areas of buildings,
roads, railways, and other built structures. These
future cities
are likely to contain a
higher proportion of green cover than the cities
of today, with an increasing
focus on
planting on roofs, vertical walls, and formerly
impervious surfaces like car parks. But
built
environments
will
still
be
ever-present
in
dense
megacities.
We
can
greatly
enhance
the
utility of green space through designs
that provide a range of different uses in a
confined space. A
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