大学英语三级试卷

大学英语三级考试试卷

I. Reading Comprehension (30%)

Passage One

Tread (

踩

) softly in the garden and pluck that rose with care; flowers cry when

cut, cucumbers scream and even healthy fruit gurgles (

发出咯咯声

) according

to new acoustic research on the stressful life of plants.

The findings, released by the Institute for Applied Physics at the University of

Bonn, could have important implications for farmers since, with the proper

eavesdropping device, one can now distinguish between healthy and sick

vegetables. Talking to plants, it seems, is not as rewarding as listening to them.

The Bonn scientists have developed laser-driven microphones that pick up

sounds inaccessible to the human ear. When a leaf or a stem is sliced, the plant

signals pain (or perhaps merely dismay) by releasing the gas ethylene (

乙烯

)

over its entire surface.

Doctor Frank Kuhnemann of Bonn University has been trapping the ethylene in

a bell jar. The gas molecules are later bombarded with laser beams, which

makes them vibrate. This produces a sound wave picked up by the microphones.

microphone,

(By eavesdropping on plants it should be possible to develop an early warning

system to detect pests and disease). Knowing the stress level of fruit and

vegetables can also be an aid in efficient storing and transporting. Acoustical

evidence demonstrates that apples emit higher levels of ethylene, which causes

neighboring plants to wilt (

枯萎

). As a result, the scientists urged fruit

producers to store apples separately.

1. The first paragraph tells us that _____.

A. plants also have feelings like human beings

B. plants may have different reactions to different treatments

C. we should not cut flowers

D. healthy fruit will cry

2. The findings' implication lies in that _____.

A. we can know more about plants through talking to them

B. we can help plant grow by playing music for them

C. with acoustic device, we can know about the situation a plant is in

D. with the help of eavesdropping, we can hear plants talking

3.

In the experiment, _____ is not used.

A. ajar

B. microphones

C. a bell

D. laser beams

4.

According to the passage, plants can _____.

A. dance to the music

B. listen to people talk

C. be trapped by laser beams

D. release the gas ethylene

5. Through the experiment we know that _____.

A. we should not store apples together with the other fruits

B. not all plants can release the gas ethylene

C. we can hear the cry of a plant with our ears

D. plants also eavesdrop our conversation

Passage Two

(Despite a cooling of the economy, high-technology companies are still crying

out for skilled workers). The Information Technology Association of America

projects that more than 800,000 technology jobs will go unfilled next year. The

lack of qualified workers poses a huge threat to the U.S. economy.

The most commonly cited reason for this state of affairs is that the country's

agrarian-age (

农村时代

) education system fails to prepare students in the

primary and secondary grades for twenty-first-century work. Yet an inadequate

and outmoded education system is only part of the problem. A less tangible but

equally powerful cause is an antique classification system that divides the

workforce into two camps: white-collar knowledge workers and blue-collar

manual laborers.

Blue-collar workers emerged in the United States during the Industrial Age as

work migrated from farms to factories.

(White- collar office workers became a significant class in the twentieth century,

outnumbering the blue-collar workers by mid-century). Corporations

increasingly require a new layer of knowledge worker: a highly skilled

multi-disciplined talent, who combines the mind of the white-collar worker with

a solid grounding in mathematics and science (physics, chemistry, and biology).

These

companies and to the economy as well as for their personal earning ability -

apply that knowledge to technology.

The gold-collar worker already exists in a wide range of jobs. The maintenance

technician who test and repairs aircraft systems at American Airlines; the

network administrator who manages systems and network operations at Procter

& Gamble; the engineering technologist who assists scientists at Sandia

National Laboratories; and the advanced-manufacturing technician at Intel can

all be regarded as gold-collar workers.

6. In the first paragraph, the word

A. throws

B. predicts

C. concludes

D. claims

7. Compared with a blue-collar worker, a gold-collar worker _____.

A. is more skillful in technology

B. has received higher education

C. used to be a white- collar worker

D. learnt more in high school

8. A gold-collar worker _____.

A. knows more than one kind of knowledge or skill

B. knows only one kind of knowledge of skill

C. earns less than a blue-collar worker

D. earns less than a white-collar worker

9. The first group of blue-collar workers were most likely to be _____ in the

past.

A. migrants

B. educators

C. servants

D. farmers

10. When did the number of white-collar workers become bigger than that of

the blue-collar workers in American?

A. Recently.

B. In 1970 or so.

C. In 1950 or so.

D. During the Industrial Age.

Passage Three

In the United States there are two major political parties, the Democratic and

the Republican. (The Democratic Party is the older of the two, tracing its

history back to the time of Andrew Jackson in 1820s. The Republican Party,

which followed the Federalist party and the Whigs, was organized in the 1850s

primarily as an antislavery party. Since antislavery sentiment was strongest in

the manufacturing area of the North and East, the Republican Party logically

adopted the protective tariff and other ideas furthering the growth of

manufacturing in the United States. In 1860 the Democratic party was split into

two factions, the northern and the southern Democrats, each putting up its own

candidate for president. While the two factions together polled more votes than

did the Republican ticket, the Republicans received a total higher than that of

either faction of the Democrats, and Abraham Lincoln was elected president.

From 1860 to the present day there have been many attempts to found new

parties. But whenever a third party has had considerable appeal at the polls, one

of both of the major parties in the next election has embraced the platform

accounting for its appeal, and the third party has faded away.

Over the years, therefore, the positions of the two major parties have been

changing and adapting themselves to the currently important problems of public

policy. At one time the

Democratic party was considered to be a party standing up for state rights, and

the Republican party a party representing the interests of business and industry.

A clear cut difference between the two parties, however, has not existed for

more than half a century. If one reads the platforms of the two parties, one finds

that there is very little difference between them. Each party seems to be

appealing to practically every group of voters. Unlike the political parties of

Europe, and unlike the Conservatives and Laborites in England, the political

parties in the United States are the collections of many disparate (

不同的

)

elements.

11. At first, the platform of the Republican party was centered around _____.

A. antislavery policies

B. developing manufacturing

C. settling the disputes between factions

D. solving social problems

12. According to the passage, Lincoln was elected because _____.

A. his antislavery policies

B. the Democratic party was split up

C. his penetrating speeches

D. the Democratic party was for him

13. The third parties cannot survive in America because _____.

A. they don't have appealing policies

B. the two major parties always adapt their policies to the public's interest

C. they are lack of funds

D. they are not allowed to take part in the election

14. Nowadays, the two major parties _____.

A. have quite similar platforms

B. don't' have any conflicts

C. appeal to different groups of people

D. have strayed away from the values they cherished in the past

15. The two major parties in Britain are _____.

A. similar with those in America

B. similar with those in Europe

C. the collection of many different elements

D. different from those in America

Passage Four

Not only politeness but an attitude of reverence is demanded in church. If one is

not familiar with the service, he may maintain a respectful silence, standing

when others stand, sitting when they sit, and bowing during prayer. On entering

a church an usher will probably show you to a seat and it is polite to take the

one indicated by him, though it is quite proper to whisper a suggestion that one

does not want to sit too far to the front, or that one is a little deaf and would like

to sit well forward.

(It is usual for anyone attending church to take some money along for the

offering, as it is a regular part of every church service and is used for the work

of the church). Good clothes, but never evening clothes, are worn to a church

service. In some churches it is improper for a lady not to wear a hat. It is

impolite and disrespectful to talk or whisper, to eat or chew anything, or to

enter or leave during the service. One must come on time and stay till the

service is over. When the service is over, one passes quietly out of the church

with the other worshippers. In many churches it is considered irreverent to talk

before one has reached the entrance hall.

Sometimes the

service. This is a special service for the fellowship of Christians, and one is not

supposed to participate unless he is a Christian. He may sit quietly and observe

the service if he wishes.

16. If you don't know the procedures quite well, you'd better _____.

A. sit there silently all the time

B. stand by and observe the others

C. do as the others do

D. sit in the front seats

17. On entering a church, you _____.

A. can speak loudly to your friends

B. may whisper to the usher where you prefer to be seated

C. must follow the usher's direction

D. should always try to sit near to the front

18. It is desirable to go to a church wearing _____.

A. your best clothes

B. your evening clothes

C. clothes neat and formal

D. a hat

19. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. You'd take some money with you to the church.

B. Women are allowed to wear a hat in some churches.

C. You cannot be late for the service.

D. You may start talking when the service is over.

20. At the end of the service, _____ can take part in the

A. only Christians

B. all the people present

C. only Americans

D. all the natives

II. Vocabulary and Structure (15%)

21. The quicksilver sniper felled victim after victim with a single, long-distance

shot, then _____ quickly as a mist in a morning breeze.

A. faded out

B. vanished

C. blinked

D. orbit

22. The waitress said that she noticed the man because he was _____ not only

in dress but in expenditure.

A. sophisticated

B. dizzy

C. racial

D. extravagant

23. He has spent all his life working with mentally _____ people.

A. diverged

B. disabled

C. naked

D. abolished