1 中山大学 637基础英语2013

中山大学

2013

年基础英语考研真题

I. Reading comprehension (40 points)

Passage 1

The

swimming

sky

of

oceanic

expanse

in

Van Gogh

?

s The

Starry

Night;

the human

figure

born of marble by the careful hands of Rodin; the graceful, ethereal figure of Degas

?

s ballerina; all

communicate both emotion and essence in a world where aesthetic reigns supreme. Art has forever

been humankind

?

s tool for expressing the ineffable, a form of communication when words fail or

are

wholly

inadequate.

Art

challenges

the

artist

by

constructing

a

world

in

which

opposing

forces

—

impulse

and

control,

emotion

and

thought,

ideation

and

actuality

—

must

cooperate

to

produce a piece of art. The artist must wrestle an almost untamable creative force for control in

order

to

grant

space

to

its

expression.

The

process

of

facing

and

governing

this

force

while

conveying

it

to

others

makes

artistic

creation

an

especially

valuable

therapeutic

tool

for

the

emotionally disturbed.

The process of creation and the created product are equally valuable parts of therapeutic art.

Creating art requires balancing two aspects of personality that are, in the case of the emotionally

disturbed person, especially irreconcilable. Like all artists, the emotionally disturbed person must

learn

to

control

and

harness

the

dangerous,

unpredictable

forces

of

creation

while

remaining

sufficiently

unrestrictive

to

allow

its

expression.

Balancing

these

forces

in

a

constructive

way

while

granting

full

play

to

both

is

an

important

ability

to

master,

one

that

art

therapy

teaches

particularly well.

The emotionally disturbed artist

?

s goal is not the perfect expression of an aesthetic ideal. Yet

communicating the mind

?

s content and having it recognized by others is intensely valuable to the

disturbed artist

?

s healing. Taking ideas out of the isolation imposed by the mind and reproducing

them in a form that can be shared and understood by others releases those ideas from the mind and

removes

from

them

some

of

their

power.

Using

the

brush

where

the

pen

and

voice

fail

allows

others, like the therapist, to recognize, understand, and begin to deconstruct the mind

?

s content.

Artistic creation allows emotionally disturbed people to communicate ideas they are unable

to

express

in

words,

and

it provides

therapists

with

an

otherwise

unobtainable

window

into

the

mind.

Examination

of

their

artistic

pieces

reveals

an

inner

world

that

the

self

of

the

disturbed

person cannot express another way. Art then becomes a new therapeutic medium through which to

understand

and

address

the complex

issues

that

threaten

and

haunt

the disturbed

person,

and

in

which to free them.

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to ______.

A. prove that art therapy has made significant strides in recent decades

B.

demonstrate

how

art

therapy

can

transform

nonfunctioning

individuals

into

productive

members of society

C. show how art therapy can be beneficial for emotionally disturbed people

D. describe the methods by which artwork can be interpreted by a therapist

2. In line 4

, paragraph 3 “the brush” is used primarily to signify ______

.

A. the wide variety of artistic equipment

B. the author

?

s preference for art over written communication

C. the process of painting

D. artistic creation

3. The passage suggests that the main reason a therapist might use art to work with emotionally

disturbed people is that art therapy can ______.

A. allow them to address ideas or emotions in a nonverbal way

B. share their innermost thoughts with the public

C. broaden the scope of their social interaction

D. encourage them to cooperate with others

4. The author su

ggests that artwork functions as “window”

(line 2, paragraph 4) because artwork

A. is transparent

B. stiffles communication

C. can be extremely fragile

D. allows access to thoughts

5. The author

?

s conclusion would be most directly supported by additional information proving

that ______.

A. art therapists are better able to evaluate the quality of art than regular therapists

B. individuals involved in art programs have more control over their emotions

C. there is a documented connection between creativity and attention span

D. painting relieves some symptoms of arthritis

Passage 2

Since

time

immemorial,

countless

scholars

have

asked

the

question:

What

is

beauty?

As

philosophers engage in weighty discourses, designers update the latest fashions, and artists create

their masterpieces, what is considered beautiful changes at an alarming pace. Fifty years ago, the

full-figured

Marilyn

Monroe

embodied

the

American

aesthetic

value;

today,

a

legion

of

Hollywood actresses vastly different in appearance from Marilyn

?

s have taken her place, However,

aesthetic

values

not

only

differ

from

generation

to

generation,

but

do

so

along cultural

lines

as

well. The conventions that govern painting and music vary greatly from East to West, Often, what

is

considered

disgusting

to one

civilization

is

the

pinnacle

of

aesthetic

appeal

in

another.

Thus,

when left to the sphere of human design, the search for an absolute definition of beauty remains an

elusive one at best.

As

fundamental

physicists,

my

colleagues

and

I

like

to

believe

that

we

are

involved

in

a

search for a beauty that does not remain uninfluenced by definition. The beauty that we search for

is

not

that

which

is

laid

down

through

the

work

of

people

and

subject

to

short- term

tastes,

but

rather that which has been established by Nature. Those not involved with physics tend to think of

it as a precise and predictive science

—

certainly not a field of study fit for the contemplation of the

beautiful.

Yet,

one

of

physics

?

s

greatest

gifts

is

that

it

allows

its

students

to

look

past

extrinsic

appearances into a more overwhelming beauty. As a human being, I am captivated by the visual

appeal

of

a

wave

crashing

on

the

beach.

As

a

physicist,

however,

I

possess

the

ability

to

be

captivated by the much deeper beauty of the physical laws that govern such a phenomenon. Where

the

nonphysicist

sees

a

lovely

but

inexplicable

event,

the

well- schooled

physicist

is

able

to

perceive a brilliant design.

In truth, since the day that Albert Einstein first proposed the notion that there might be one

overarching physics1 theory that governs the universe, aesthetics tins become a driving force in

modern

physics.

What

Einstein

and

we,

as his

intellectual

descendants, have

discovered

is

this:

Nature, at its most fundamental level, is beautifully constructed. The remarkable simplicity of the

laws that govern the universe is, at times, nothing short of breathtaking. And at every step, as new

discoveries and technologies allow us to examine the physical world on deeper and deeper levels,

we

find

that

the

beauty

itself

becomes

more

profound. As Einstein

himself

said,

it would

seem

more likely that we should find ourselves living in a

“

chaotic world, in no way graspable through

thinking.

”

Yet

here

we

are

closer

than

ever

to

a

full

understanding

of

the

universe

?

s

beautiful

clockwork.

6. The author mentions Marilyn Monroe in paragraph 1 in order to ______.

A. provide an example of today

?

s standards of beauty

B. discuss her abilities as an actress

C. demonstrate how susceptible aesthetics are to change

D. illustrate that the standard definition of beauty remains constant

7. The author

?

s assertion in lines 6-7

, paragraph 1 (“what is considered disgusting...in another”)

suggests that ______.

A. cultures are destined to clash

B. many civilizations are prone to disgusting behavior

C. different societies are fled together by an appreciation for physics

D. it is nearly impossible to say what is truly beautiful

8. As used in line 2

paragraph 2, the phrase “laid down” most nearly means ______

.

A. rested

B. created

C. slept

D. set

9.

In

the

course

of

outlining

the

various

gifts

of

physics,

the

author

cites

all

of

the

following

EXCEPT ______.

A. the ability to look for a beauty that is unchanging

B. appreciating the visual beauty era wave crashing

C. understanding both extrinsic and intrinsic beauty

D. seeing a deeper design in natural events

10. In the third paragraph, Albert Einstein

?s proposal of an “overarching physical theory” suggests

that ______.

A. the author believes that there is beauty in simplicity

B. the universe is infinitely complex

C. aesthetics has no place in physics

D. the physical world will never be understood rationally

11. The author quotes Albert Einstein in lines 6-7, paragraph 3 in order to ______.

A. detail the way physical laws affect chaos

B. emphasize the scope of Einstein

?

s influence

C. suggest that Einstein might have doubted the beauty of physics

D. stress just how remarkable the order of the universe really is

12. The purpose of this passage is to ______.

A. discuss the way various cultures assess beauty

B. explain the beauty that is unmasked through an understanding of physics

C. demonstrate the way concepts of beauty change over time

D. finding new relevance for different physical laws

Passage 3

For

eighty

years

Thomas

?

s

family

had

grown

corn

on

its

hundred-acre

plot.

In

his

grandfather

?

s day, even in his father

?

s, wheat and timothy were also sown to help feed cattle and

pigs. While there had been no animals on the land in Thomas

?

s time, Thomas

?

s father spoke at

length

about

those

days,

when

he

himself

had

been

a

child.

Back

then,

Thomas

?

s

father

had

dedicated every one of his free hours to taking care of the farm: grinding chop, cleaning up after

the animals, mending fences, and performing innumerable other taxing chores. Later, it was just

corn, sold to some big company out East that his father said paid them a little less every year. It

wasn

?

t about the money though; his father would have made do just enough to keep things going.

His concern was family and tradition, the agricultural way of life.

During harvest, Thomas would ride on the enormous thresher with his father. In the cabin,

above the green sea parting before them, he would listen as his father explained the significance of

a

life

dedicated

to

agriculture.

As

Thomas

nibbled

on

a

lunch

packed

by

his

mother,

his

father

expounded upon his philosophy that a man must not be separated from the land that provides for

him, that the land was very important. He would say, time and again,

“

A man isn

?

t a man without

land to call his own.

”

He was not an uneducated man, Thomas

?

s father. He had completed high school and probably

could have gone to college if he wanted, but he was a man of the earth, and his spirit was tied to

the

soil.

Agriculture

was

not

his

profession;

it

was

his

passion,

one

that

he

tried

to

seed

in

the

hearts of his three boys. Thomas

?

s two older brothers had little time for farmwork, however. What

chores

they

were

not

forced

to

do

went

undone

or

were

done

by

Thomas;

their

energies

were

focused on cars, dating, and dance halls.

Even

at

a

young

age,

Thomas

was

able

to

see

in

his

father

?

s

eyes

the

older

man

?

s

secret

despair. The land that had been in his family for three generations was not valued by the fourth.

Not even little Tommy, who always rode in the cabin with him and helped out as much as he was

able,

would

stay

and

tend

the

fields.

The

world had

grown

too

large,

and

there

were

too

many

distractions to lure young men from their homes. Boys these days did not realize they had a home

until it was too late.

Sitting

on

the

hood

of

his

jeep,

Thomas

gazed

out

over

dozens

of

acres

of

orange

survey

stakes that covered what was once his family

?

s farm. The house, barn, and silos were all gone,

replaced by construction trailers and heavy equipment.

The town that lay just

five miles up the

road had grown into a city, consuming land like a hungry beast. Thomas

?

s father had been the last

farmer left in the county, holding out long after the farm became unprofitable. He farmed after his

sons left and his wife died; he farmed until his last breath, on principle.

Now a highway and several shopping malls were going to take his place, Thomas thought.

His brothers both said it was inevitable, that progress cannot be halted. They argued that if

the

family

did

not

sell

the

land,

the

city

would

claim

eminent

domain

and

take

it

from

them

for

a

fraction

of

what

they

could get

by

selling

it.

Thomas

did

not

feel

he

had

any

right

to

disagree.

After alt, he had chosen to leave the farm as well, to pursue his education. Though he didn

?

t stand

in their way, and though his profit from the lucrative sale was equal to his brothers

?

, Thomas was

sure he felt something that they could not. The money didn

?

t matter much to him; he had enough

to get by. It was something about the land. Now that he had finally found his way back to it, he

was losing it. He was losing his home.

13. Which is NOT CORRECT about the farm in Thomas

?

s father

?

s day?

A. Corn, wheat and timothy grown on the farm were sold for profit.

B. Cattle and pigs were raised on the farm.

C. Thomas

?

s father could make both ends meet.

D. Thomas

?

s father spent a lot of time doing farm chores.

14. In line 5

paragraph 1 the word “taxing” most nearly means ______

.

A. monetary

C. rejuvenating

B. expensive

D. tiring

15. Based on the passage, a thresher (line 1 paragraph 2) is most likely used to ______.

A. mend fences

B. construct shopping malls

C. harvest crops

D. plant seeds

16. Thomas

?

s father

?

s statement in the last line of paragraph 2 primarily shows the father to be

______.

A. discouraged because he is getting less money for his corn each year

B. overwhelmed by the number of tedious chores he must complete each day

C. convinced that his life as a farmer is worthwhile

D. pleased that his youngest son is with him as he threshes the corn

17.

The

most

likely

cause

of

the

“secret

despair”

(line

1

paragraph

4)

that

Thomas

sees

in

his

father

?

s eyes is his father

?

s ______.

A. sadness that his sons would not care for the family farm in the same way that he had

B. disappointment that Thomas didn

?

t help as much as he could have with the farm chores

C. worry about his sons

?

preoccupation with cars, dating, and dancing

D. regret that he didn

?

t attend college even though he could have done so

18.

The

description

of

Thomas

?

s

brothers

?

interest

in

the

last

two

sentences

of

paragraph

3

highlights ______.

A. the difference between the brothers as young men and as adults

B. the reasons that Thomas performed the brothers

?

neglected chores

C. the gap between the brothers

?

values and those of their father

D. the considerable conflict between the brothers and their father

19. An important function of paragraph 5 is to ______.

A. establish that the narrative to this point has been a flashback

B. contrast Thomas

?

s current life with his past life

C. summarize the plot

D. foreshadow Thomas

?

s future

20. The last sentence of the passage suggests that Thomas feels ______.

A. excited anticipation

B. overwhelming despair

C. regretful nostalgia

D. unaccustomed relief

II. Correct the mistakes in the following sentences: underline the wrong parts and put the

correct

ones

in

the

brackets.

If

there

is

no

error,

use

a

√

or

write

“No

error”

on

the

ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)