2007年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语试题

2007

年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语试题

Section I

Directions:

Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark [A], [B], [C]

or [D] on

ANSWER SHEET 1

. (10 points)

By 1830 the former Spanish and Portuguese colonies had become independent nations. The

roughly 20 million

大

1

家

of these nations looked

大

2

家

to the future. Born in the crisis of

the old regime and Iberian Colonialism, many of the leaders of independence

大

3

家

the ideals

of

representative

government,

careers

大

4

家

to

talent,

freedom

of

commerce

and

trade,

the

大

5

家

to private property, and a belief in the individual as the basis of society.

大

6

家

there

was a belief that the new nations should be sovereign and independent states, large enough to be

economically viable and integrated by a

大

7

家

set of laws.

On the issue of

大

8

家

of religion and the position of the church,

大

9

家

, there was less

agreement

大

10

家

the leadership. Roman Catholicism had been the state religion and the only

one

大

11

家

by

the

Spanish

crown.

大

12

家

most

leaders

sought

to

maintain

Catholicism

大

13

家

the official religion of the new states, some sought to end the

大

14

家

of other faiths.

The defense of the Church became a rallying

大

15

家

for the conservative forces.

The

ideals

of

the

early

leaders

of

independence

were

often

egalitarian,

valuing

equality

of

everything. Bolivar had received aid from Haiti and had

大

16

家

in return to abolish slavery in

the areas he liberated. By 1854 slavery had been abolished everywhere except Spain’s

大

17

家

colonies.

Early

promises

to

end

Indian

tribute

and

taxes

on people of

mixed

origin came

much

大

18

家

because

the

new

nations

still

needed

the

revenue

such

policies

大

19

家

.

Egalitarian

sentiments were often tempered by fears that the mass of the population was

大

20

家

self

-

rule

and democracy.

1.

[A] natives

Use of English

[B] inhabitants

[C] peoples

[D] individuals

2.

[A] confusedly

[B] cheerfully

[C] worriedly

[D] hopefully

3.

[A] shared

[B] forgot

[C] attained

[D] rejected

4.

[A] related

[B] close

[C] open

[D] devoted

5.

[A] access

[B] succession

[C] right

[D] return

6.

[A] Presumably

[B] Incidentally

[C] Obviously

[D] Generally

7.

[A] unique

[B] common

[C] particular

[D] typical

8.

[A] freedom

[B] origin

[C] impact

[D] reform

9.

[A] therefore

[B] however

[C] indeed

[D] moreover

10.

[A] with

[B] about

[C] among

[D] by

11.

[A] allowed

[B] preached

[C] granted

[D] funded

12.

[A] Since

[B] If

[C] Unless

[D] While

13.

[A] as

[B] for

[C] under

[D] against

14.

[A] spread

[B] interference

[C] exclusion

[D] influence

15.

[A] support

[B] cry

[C] plea

[D] wish

16.

[A] urged

[B] intended

[C] expected

[D] promised

17.

[A] controlling

[B] former

[C] remaining

[D] original

18.

[A] slower

[B] faster

[C] easier

[D] tougher

19.

[A] created

[B] produced

[C] contributed

[D] preferred

20.

[A] puzzled by

[B] hostile to

[C] pessimistic about

[D] unprepared for

Section II

Part A

Directions:

Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing [A], [B], [C], or

[D]. Mark your answers on

ANSWER SHEET 1

. (40 points)

Text 1

If

you

were

to

examine

the

birth

certificates

of

every

soccer

player

in

2006’s

World

Cup

tournament, you would most likely find a noteworthy quirk: elite soccer players are more likely to

have been born in the earlier months of the year than in the later months. If you then examined the

European national youth teams that feed the World Cup and professional ranks, you would find

this strange phenomenon to be even more pronounced.

What

might

account

for

this

strange

phenomenon?

Here

are

a

few

guesses:

a)

certain

astrological signs confer superior soccer skills; b) winter

-

born babies tend to have higher oxygen

capacity,

which

increases

soccer

stamina;

c)

soccer

-

mad

parents

are

more

likely

to

conceive

Reading Comprehension

children in springtime, at the annual peak of soccer mania; d) none of the above.

Anders

Ericsson,

a

58

-

year

-

old

psychology

professor

at

Florida

State

University,

says

he

believes

strongly

in

“none

of

the

above.”

Ericsson

grew

up

in

Sweden,

and

studied

nuclear

engineering until he realized he would have more opportunity to conduct his own research if he

switched to psychology. His first experiment, nearly 30 years ago, involved memory: training a

person to hear and then repeat a random series of numbers. “With the first subject, after about 20

hours of training, his digit span had risen from 7 to 20,” Ericsson recalls. “He kept improving, and

after about 200 hours of training he had risen to over 80 numbers.”

This

success,

coupled

with

later

research

showing

that

memory

itself

is

not

genetically

determined, led Ericsson to conclude that the act of memorizing is more of a cognitive exercise

than an intuitive one. In other words, whatever inborn differences two people may exhibit in their

abilities

to

memorize,

those

differences

are

swamped

by

how

well

each

person

“encodes”

the

information.

And

the

best

way

to

learn

how

to

encode

information

meaningfully,

Ericsson

determined,

was

a

process

known

as

deliberate

practice.

Deliberate

practice

entails

more

than

simply repeating a task. Rather, it involves setting specific goals, obtaining immediate feedback

and concentrating as much on technique as on outcome.

Ericsson and his colleagues have thus taken to studying expert performers in a wide range of

pursuits, including soccer. They gather all the data they can, not just performance statistics and

biographical details but also the results of their own laboratory experiments with high achievers.

Their work makes a rather startling assertion: the trait we commonly call talent is highly overrated.

Or,

put

another

way,

expert

performers

–

whether

in

memory

or

surgery,

ballet

or

computer

programming – are nearly always made, not born.

21.

The birthday phenomenon found among soccer players is mentioned to

[A] stress the importance of professional training.

[B] spotlight the soccer superstars in the World Cup.

[C] introduce the topic of what makes expert performance.

[D] explain why some soccer teams play better than others.

22.

The word “mania” (Line 4, Paragraph 2) most probably means

[A] fun.

[B] craze.

[C] hysteria.

[D] excitement.

23.

According to Ericsson, good memory

[A] depends on meaningful processing of information.

[B] results from intuitive rather than cognitive exercises.

[C] is determined by genetic rather than psychological factors.

[D] requires immediate feedback and a high degree of concentration.

24.

Ericsson and his colleagues believe that

[A] talent is a dominating factor for professional success.

[B] biographical data provide the key to excellent performance.

[C] the role of talent tends to be overlooked.

[D] high achievers owe their success mostly to nurture.

25.

Which of the following proverbs is closest to the message the text tries to convey?

[A] “Faith will move mountains.”

[B] “One reaps what one sows.”

[C] “Practice makes perfect.”

[D] “Like father, like son.”

Text 2

For the past several years, the Sunday newspaper supplement

Parade

has featured a column

called “Ask Marilyn.” People are invited to query Marilyn vos Savant, who at age 10 had tested at

a mental level of someone about 23 years old; that gave her an IQ of 228 – the highest score ever

recorded. IQ tests ask you to complete verbal and visual analogies, to envision paper after it has

been folded and cut, and to deduce numerical sequences, among other similar tasks. So it is a bit

confusing when vos Savant fields such queries from the average Joe (whose IQ is 100) as, What’s

the difference between love and fondness? Or what is the nature of luck and coincidence? It’s not

obvious

how

the

capacity

to

visualize

objects

and

to

figure

out

numerical

patterns

suits

one

to

answer questions that have eluded some of the best poets and philosophers.

Clearly, intelligence encompasses more than a score on a test. Just what does it mean to be

smart?

How

much

of

intelligence

can

be

specified,

and

how

much

can

we

learn

about

it

from

neurology, genetics, computer science and other fields?

The defining term of intelligence in humans still seems to be the IQ score, even though IQ

tests

are

not

given

as

often

as

they

used

to

be.

The

test

comes

primarily

in

two

forms:

the

Stanford

-

Binet

Intelligence

Scale

and

the

Wechsler

Intelligence

Scales

(both

come

in

adult

and

children’s

version).

Generally

costing

several

hundred

dollars,

they

are

usually

given

only

by

psychologists,

although

variations

of

them

populate

bookstores

and

the

World

Wide

Web.

Superhigh

scores

like

vos

Savant’s

are

no

longer

possible,

because

scoring

is

now

based

on

a

statistical population distribution among age peers, rather than simply dividing the mental age by

the

chronological

age

and

multiplying

by

100.

Other

standardized

tests,

such

as

the

Scholastic

Assessment

Test

(SAT)

and

the

Graduate

Record

Exam

(GRE),

capture

the

main

aspects

of

IQ

tests.

Such

standardized

tests

may

not

assess

all

the

important

elements

necessary

to

succeed

in

school

and

in

life,

argues

Robert

J.

Sternberg.

In

his

article

“How

Intelligent

Is

Intelligence

Testing?”, Sternberg notes that traditional test best assess analytical and verbal skills but fail to

measure creativity and practical knowledge, components also critical to problem solving and life

success.

Moreover,

IQ

tests

do

not

necessarily

predict

so

well

once

populations

or

situations

change. Research has found that IQ predicted leadership skills when the tests were given under

low

-

stress

conditions,

but

under

high

-

stress

conditions,

IQ

was

negatively

correlated

with

leadership – that is, it predicted the opposite. Anyone who has toiled through SAT will testify that

test

-

taking skill also matters, whether it’s knowing when to guess or what questions to skip.

26.

Which of the following may be required in an intelligence test?

[A] Answering philosophical questions.

[B] Folding or cutting paper into different shapes.

[C] Telling the differences between certain concepts.

[D] Choosing words or graphs similar to the given ones.

27.

What can be inferred about intelligence testing from Paragraph 3?

[A] People no longer use IQ scores as an indicator of intelligence.

[B] More versions of IQ tests are now available on the Internet.

[C] The test contents and formats for adults and children may be different.

[D] Scientists have defined the important elements of human intelligence.

28.

People nowadays can no longer achieve IQ scores as high as vos Savant’s because

[A] the scores are obtained through different computational procedures.

[B] creativity rather than analytical skills is emphasized now.

[C] vos Savant’s case is an extreme one that will not repeat.

[D] the defining characteristic of IQ tests has changed.

29.

We can conclude from the last paragraph that

[A] test scores may not be reliable indicators of one’s ability.

[B] IQ scores and SAT results are highly correlated.

[C] testing involves a lot of guesswork.

[D] traditional test are out of date.

30.

What is the author’s attitude towards IQ tests?

[A] Supportive.

[B] Skeptical.

[C] Impartial.

[D] Biased.

Text 3

During the past generation, the American middle

-

class family that once could count on hard

work and fair play to keep itself financially secure had been transformed by economic risk and

new realities. Now a pink slip, a bad diagnosis, or a disappearing spouse can reduce a family from

solidly middle class to newly poor in a few months.