Section I Use of English
Directions:
Read the following
text. Choose the best word (s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on
the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)
People have
speculated for centuries about a future without work .Today is no different, with
academics, writers, and activists once again _1_ that technology be replacing
human workers. Some imagine that the coming work-free world will be defined by
_2_ . A few wealthy people will own all the capital, and the masses will
struggle in an impoverished wasteland.
A different and not
mutually exclusive _3_ holds that the future will be a wasteland of a different
sort, one _4 _by purposelessness: Without jobs to give their lives _5_ , people
will simply become lazy and depressed. _6_ , today's unemployed don't seem to
be having a great time. One Gallup poll found that 20 percent of Americans who
have been unemployed for at least a year report having depression, double the
rate for _7_ Americans. Also, some research suggests that the _8_ for rising rates
of mortality, mental-health problems, and addicting _9_ poorly-educated
middle-aged people is shortage of well-paid jobs. Perhaps this is why many
__10_ the agonizing dullness of a jobless future.
But it doesn't __11__
follow from findings like these that a world without work would be filled with
unease. Such visions are based on the __12__ of being unemployed in a society
built on the concept of employment. In the __13__ of work, a society designed
with other ends in mind could __14__ strikingly different circumstanced for the
future of labor and leisure. Today, the __15__ of work may be a bit overblown.
"Many jobs are boring, degrading, unhealthy, and a waste of human
potential," says John Danaher, a lecturer at the National University of Ireland
in Galway.
These days, because
leisure time is relatively __16__ for most workers, people use their free time
to counterbalance the intellectual and emotional __17__ of their jobs.
"When I come home from a hard day's work, I often feel __18__ ,"
Danaher says, adding, "In a world in which I don't have to work, I might
feel rather different"—perhaps different enough to throw himself __19__ a
hobby or a passion project with the intensity usually reserved for __20__
matters.
1.[A] boasting [B]
denying [C] warning [D] ensuring
2.[A] inequality [B]
instability [C] unreliability [D] uncertainty
3.[A] policy
[B]guideline [C] resolution [D] prediction
4.[A] characterized
[B]divided [C] balanced [D]measured
5.[A] wisdom [B]
meaning [C] glory [D] freedom
6.[A] Instead [B] Indeed
[C] Thus [D] Nevertheless
7.[A] rich [B] urban
[C]working [D] educated
8.[A] explanation [B]
requirement [C] compensation [D] substitute
9.[A] under [B]
beyond [C] alongside [D] among
10.[A] leave behind
[B] make up [C] worry about [D] set aside
11.[A] statistically
[B] occasionally [C] necessarily [D] economically
12.[A] chances [B]
downsides [C] benefits [D] principles
13.[A] absence [B]
height [C] face [D] course
14.[A] disturb [B]
restore [C] exclude [D] yield
15.[A] model [B]
practice [C] virtue [D] hardship
16.[A] tricky [B]
lengthy [C] mysterious [D] scarce
17.[A] demands [B]
standards [C] qualities [D] threats
18.[A] ignored [B]
tired [C] confused [D] starved
19.[A] off [B]
against [C] behind [D] into
20.[A] technological
[B] professional [C] educational [D] interpersonal
Section II Reading Comprehension
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 the ANSWER SHEET. (40
points)
Text 1
Every Saturday morning,
at 9 am, more than 50,000 runners set off to run 5km around their local park.
The Parkrun phenomenon began with a dozen friends and has inspired 400 events
in the UK and more abroad. Events are free, staffed by thousands of volunteers.
Runners range from four years old to grandparents; their times range from
Andrew Baddeley's world record 13 minutes 48 seconds up to an hour.
Parkrun is succeeding
where London's Olympic "legacy" is failing. Ten years ago on Monday,
it was announced that the Games of the 30th Olympiad would be in London.
Planning documents pledged that the great legacy of the Games would be to level
a nation of sport lovers away from their couches. The population would be
fitter, healthier and produce more winners. It has not happened. The number of
adults doing weekly sport did rise, by nearly 2 million in the run—up to
2012—but the general population was growing faster. Worse, the numbers are now
falling at an accelerating rate. The opposition claims primary school pupils
doing at least two hours of sport a week have nearly halved. Obesity has risen
among adults and children. Official retrospections continue as to why London
2012 failed to "inspire a generation." The success of Parkrun offers
answers.
Parkun is not a race
but a time trial: Your only competitor is the clock. The ethos welcomes
anybody. There is as much joy over a puffed-out first-timer being clapped over
the line as there is about top talent shining. The Olympic bidders, by
contrast, wanted to get more people doing sports and to produce more elite
athletes. The dual aim was mixed up: The stress on success over taking part was
intimidating for newcomers.
Indeed, there is
something a little absurd in the state getting involved in the planning of such
a fundamentally "grassroots", concept as community sports
associations. If there is a role for government, it should really be getting
involved in providing common goods—making sure there is space for playing
fields and the money to pave tennis and netball courts, and encouraging the
provision of all these activities in schools. But successive governments have
presided over selling green spaces, squeezing money from local authorities and
declining attention on sport in education. Instead of wordy, worthy strategies,
future governments need to do more to provide the conditions for sport to
thrive. Or at least not make them worse.
21. According to
Paragraph1, Parkrun has ____.
[A] gained great
popularity
[B] created many jobs
[C] strengthened
community ties
[D] become an
official festival
22. The author
believes that London's Olympic"legacy" has failed to ____.
[A] boost population
growth
[B] promote sport
participation
[C] improve the
city's image
[D] increase sport
hours in schools
23. Parkrun is
different from Olympic games in that it ___.
[A] aims at
discovering talents
[B] focuses on mass
competition
[C] does not
emphasize elitism
[D] does not attract
first-timers
24. With regard to
mass sport, the author holds that governments should .
[A] organize
"grassroots" sports events
[B] supervise local
sports associations
[C] increase funds
for sports clubs
[D] invest in public
sports facilities
25. The author's
attitude to what UK governments have done for sports is .
[A] tolerant
[B] critical
[C] uncertain
[D] sympathetic
Text 2
With so much focus on
children's use of screens, it's easy for parents to forget about their own
screen use. "Tech is designed to really suck on you in," says Jenny
Radesky in her study of digital play, "and digital products are there to promote
maximal engagement. It makes it hard to disengage, and leads to a lot of
bleed-over into the family routine. "
Radesky has studied
the use of mobile phones and tablets at mealtimes by giving mother-child pairs
a food-testing exercise. She found that mothers who sued devices during the
exercise started 20 percent fewer verbal and 39 percent fewer nonverbal interactions
with their children. During a separate observation, she saw that phones became
a source of tension in the family. Parents would be looking at their emails
while the children would be making excited bids for their attention.
Infants are wired to
look at parents' faces to try to understand their world, and if those faces are
blank and unresponsive—as they often are when absorbed in a device—it can be extremely disconcerting foe the children. Radesky cites
the "still face experiment" devised by developmental psychologist Ed
Tronick in the 1970s. In it, a mother is asked to interact with her child in a
normal way before putting on a blank expression and not giving them any visual
social feedback; The child becomes increasingly distressed as she tries to
capture her mother's attention. "Parents don't have to be exquisitely
parents at all times, but there needs to be a balance and parents need to be
responsive and sensitive to a child's verbal or nonverbal expressions of an
emotional need," says Radesky.
On the other hand,
Tronick himself is concerned that the worries about kids' use of screens are
born out of an "oppressive ideology that demands that parents should
always be interacting" with their children: "It's based on a somewhat
fantasized, very white, very upper-middle-class ideology that says if you're
failing to expose your child to 30,000 words you are neglecting them."
Tronick believes that just because a child isn't learning from the screen
doesn't mean there's no value to it—particularly if it gives parents time to
have a shower, do housework or simply have a break from their child. Parents,
he says, can get a lot out of using their devices to speak to a friend or get
some work out of the way. This can make them feel happier, which lets then be
more available to their child the rest of the time.
26. According to
Jenny Radesky, digital products are designed to ______.
[A] simplify routine
matters
[B] absorb user
attention
[C] better
interpersonal relations
[D] increase work
efficiency
27. Radesky's
food-testing exercise shows that mothers' use of devices ______.
[A] takes away
babies' appetite
[B] distracts
children's attention
[C] slows down
babies' verbal development
[D] reduces
mother-child communication
28. Radesky's cites
the "still face experiment" to show that _______.
[A] it is easy for
children to get used to blank expressions
[B] verbal
expressions are unnecessary for emotional exchange
[C] children are
insensitive to changes in their parents' mood
[D] parents need to
respond to children's emotional needs
29. The oppressive
ideology mentioned by Tronick requires parents to_______.
[A] protect kids from
exposure to wild fantasies
[B] teach their kids
at least 30,000 words a year
[C] ensure constant
interaction with their children
[D] remain concerned
about kid's use of screens
30. According to
Tronick, kid's use of screens may_______.
[A] give their
parents some free time
[B] make their
parents more creative
[C] help them with
their homework
[D] help them become
more attentive
Text 3
Today, widespread
social pressure to immediately go to college in conjunction with increasingly
high expectations in a fast-moving world often causes students to completely
overlook the possibility of taking a gap year. After all, if everyone you know
is going to college in the fall, it seems silly to stay back a year, doesn't
it? And after going to school for 12 years, it doesn't feel natural to spend a
year doing something that isn't academic.
But while this may be
true, it's not a good enough reason to condemn gap years. There's always a
constant fear of falling behind everyone else on the socially perpetuated
"race to the finish line," whether that be toward graduate school,
medical school or lucrative career. But despite common misconceptions, a gap
year does not hinder the success of academic pursuits—in fact, it probably
enhances it.
Studies from the
United States and Australia show that students who take a gap year are
generally better prepared for and perform better in college than those who do
not. Rather than pulling students back, a gap year pushes them ahead by
preparing them for independence, new responsibilities and environmental
changes—all things that first-year students often struggle with the most. Gap
year experiences can lessen the blow when it comes to adjusting to college and
being thrown into a brand new environment, making it easier to focus on
academics and activities rather than acclimation blunders.
If you're not
convinced of the inherent value in taking a year off to explore interests, then
consider its financial impact on future academic choices. According to the
National Center for Education Statistics, nearly 80 percent of college students
end up changing their majors at least once. This isn't surprising, considering
the basic mandatory high school curriculum leaves students with a poor
understanding of themselves listing one major on their college applications,
but switching to another after taking college classes. It's not necessarily a
bad thing, but depending on the school, it can be costly to make up credits
after switching too late in the game. At Boston College, for example, you would
have to complete an extra year were you to switch to the nursing school from
another department. Taking a gap year to figure things out initially can help
prevent stress and save money later on.
31. One of the
reasons for high-school graduates not taking a gap year is that .
[A] they think it
academically misleading
[B] they have a lot
of fun to expect in college
[C] it feels strange
to do differently from others
[D] it seems
worthless to take off-campus courses
32. Studies from the
US and Australia imply that taking a gap year helps .
[A] keep students
from being unrealistic
[B] lower risks in
choosing careers
[C] ease freshmen's
financial burdens
[D] relieve freshmen
of pressures
33. The word
"acclimation" (Line 8, Para. 3) is closest in meaning to .
[A] adaptation
[B] application
[C] motivation
[D] competition
34. A gap year may
save money for students by helping them .
[A] avoid academic
failures
[B] establish
long-term goals
[C] switch to another
college
[D] decide on the
right major
35. The most suitable
title for this text would be .
[A] In Favor of the
Gap Year
[B] The ABCs of the
Gap Year
[C] The Gap Year
Comes Back
[D] The Gap Year: A
Dilemma
Text 4
Though often viewed
as a problem for western states, the growing frequency of wildfires is a
national concern because of its impact on federal tax dollars, says Professor
Max Moritz, a specialist in fire ecology and management.
In 2015, the US
Forest Service for the first time spent more than half of its $5.5 billion
annual budget fighting fires—nearly double the percentage it spent
on such efforts 20 years ago. In effect, fewer federal funds today are going
towards the agency’s other work—such as forest
conservation, watershed and cultural resources management, and infrastructure
upkeep—that affect the lives of all Americans.
Another nationwide
concern is whether public funds from other agencies are going into construction
in fire-prone districts. As Moritz puts it, how often are federal dollars
building homes that are likely to be lost to a wildfire?
“It’s already a huge problem from a public expenditure perspective for
the whole country,” he says.” We need to take a magnifying glass to that. Like, “Wait
a minute, is this OK?” “Do we want instead to redirect
those funds to concentrate on lower-hazard parts of the landscape?”
Such a view would
require a corresponding shift in the way US society today views fire,
researchers say.
For one thing,
conversations about wildfires need to be more inclusive. Over the past decade,
the focus has been on climate change—how the warming of the Earth from
greenhouse gases is leading to conditions that worsen fires.
While climate is a
key element, Moritz says, it shouldn’t come at the expense of the rest of
the equation.
“The
human systems and the landscapes we live on are linked, and the interactions go
both ways,” he says. Failing to recognize that, he
notes, leads to “an overly simplified view of what the
solutions might be. Our perception of the problem and of what the solution is
becomes very limited.”
At the same time,
people continue to treat fire as an event that needs to be wholly controlled
and unleashed only out of necessity, says Professor Balch at the University of
Colorado. But acknowledging fire’s inevitable presence in human life is
an attitude crucial to developing the laws, policies, and practices that make
it as safe as possible, she says.
“We’ve disconnected ourselves from living with fire,” Balch says. “It is really important to
understand and try and tease out what is the human connection with fire today.”
36. More frequent
wildfires have become a national concern because in 2015 they .
[A] exhausted
unprecedented management efforts
[B] consumed a
record-high percentage of budget
[C] severely damaged
the ecology of western states
[D] caused a huge
rise of infrastructure expenditure
37.Moritz calls for the
use of “a
magnifying glass” to ____.
[A] raise more funds
for fire-prone areas
[B] avoid the
redirection of federal money
[C] find
wildfire-free parts of the landscape
[D] guarantee safer
spending of public funds
38.While admitting
that climate is a key element, Moritz notes that ____.
[A] public debates
have not settled yet
[B] fire-fighting
conditions are improving
[C] other factors
should not be overlooked
[D] a shift in the
view of fire has taken place
39.The overly
simplified view Moritz mentions is a result of failing to ___.
[A] discover the
fundamental makeup of nature
[B] explore the
mechanism of the human systems
[C] maximize the role
of landscape in human life
[D] understand the
interrelations of man and nature
40.Professor Balch
points out that fire is something man should ____.
[A] do away with
[B] come to terms
with
[C] pay a price for
[D] keep away from
Part B
Directions:
Read the following text and match each of the numbered
items in the left column to its corresponding information in the right column.
There are two extra choices in the right column. Mark your answers on the
ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)
The decline in
American manufacturing is a common refrain, particularly from Donald Trump.
"We don't make anything anymore," he told Fox News, while defending
his own made-in-Mexico clothing line.
Without question,
manufacturing has taken a significant hit during recent decades, and further
trade deals raise questions about whether new shocks could hit manufacturing.
But there is also a different
way to look at the data.
Across the country,
factory owners are now grappling with a new challenge: instead of having too
many workers, they may end up with too few. Despite trade competition and
outsourcing, American manufacturing still needs to replace tens of thousands of
retiring boomers every years. Millennials may not be that interested in taking
their place, other industries are recruiting them with similar or better pay.
For factory owners,
it all adds up to stiff competition for workers—and upward pressure on wages.
"They're harder to find and they have job offers," says Jay Dunwell,
president of Wolverine Coil Spring, a family-owned firm, "They may be
coming [into the workforce], but they've been plucked by other industries that
are also doing an well as manufacturing," Mr. Dunwell has begun bringing
high school juniors to the factory so they can get exposed to its culture.
At RoMan
Manufacturing, a maker of electrical transformers and welding equipment that
his father cofounded in 1980, Robert Roth keep a close eye on the age of his
nearly 200 workers, five are retiring this year. Mr. Roth has three
community-college students enrolled in a work-placement program, with a
starting wage of $13 an hour that rises to $17 after two years.
At a worktable inside
the transformer plant, young Jason Stenquist looks flustered by the copper
coils he's trying to assemble and the arrival of two visitors. It's his first
week on the job. Asked about his choice of career, he says at high school he considered
medical school before switching to electrical engineering. "I love working
with tools. I love creating." he says.
But to win over these
young workers, manufacturers have to clear another major hurdle: parents, who
lived through the worst US economic downturn since the Great Depression,
telling them to avoid the factory. Millennials "remember their father and
mother both were laid off. They blame it on the manufacturing recession,"
says Birgit Klohs, chief executive of The Right Place, a business development
agency for western Michigan.
These concerns aren't
misplaced: Employment in manufacturing has fallen from 17 million in 1970 to 12
million in 2013. When the recovery began, worker shortages first appeared in
the high-skilled trades. Now shortages are appearing at the mid-skill levels.
"The gap is
between the jobs that take to skills and those that require a lot of
skill," says Rob Spohr, a business professor at Montcalm Community
College. "There're enough people to fill the jobs at McDonalds and other
places where you don't need to have much skill. It's that gap in between, and
that's where the problem is. "
Julie Parks of Grand
Rapids Community points to another key to luring Millennials into
manufacturing: a work/life balance. While their parents were content to work
long hours, young people value flexibility. "Overtime is not attractive to
this generation. They really want to live their lives," she says.
41.Jay Deuwell
42. Jason Stenquist
43. Birgit Klohs
44. Rob Spohr
45.Julie Parks
[A] says that he switched
to electrical engineering because he loves working with tools.
[B] points out that
there are enough people to fill the jobs that don't need much skill.
[C] points out that
the US doesn't manufacture anything anymore.
[D] believes that it
is important to keep a close eye on the age of his workers.
[E] says that for
factory owners, workers are harder to find because of stiff competition.
[F] points out that a
work/life balance can attract young people into manufacturing.
[G] says that the
manufacturing recession is to blame for the lay-off the young people's parents.
Section III Translation
46.Directions:
Translate the following text into Chinese. Write your
translation neatly on the ANSWER SHEET. (15 points)
My dream has always
been to work somewhere in an area between fashion and publishing. Two years
before graduating from secondary school, I took a sewing and design course
thinking that I would move on to a fashion design course. However, during that
course I realized I was not good enough in this area to compete with other
creative personalities in the future, so I decided that it was not the right
path for me. Before applying for university I told everyone that I would study
journalism, because writing was, and still is, one of my favourite activities.
But, to be honest, I said it , because I thought that fashion and me together
was just a dream—I knew that no one could imagine me in the fashion industry at
all! So I decided to look for some fashion-related courses that included
writing. This is when I noticed the course "Fashion Media &
Promotion."
Section?III? Writing
Part A
47.Directions:
Suppose you are
invited by Professor Williams to give a presentation about Chinese culture to a
group of international students.Write a reply to
1)Accept the invitation
,and
2)Introduce the key
points of your presentation.
You should write
about 100 words on the ANSWER SHEET.
Do not use your own
name.Use “Li Ming” instead.
Do not write your
address.(10 points).
Part B
Write an essay based
on the following chart.In your writing,you should
1)interpret the
chart,and
2)Give your comments.
You should write
about 150 words on the ANSWER SHEET.(15points)