C．exaggerative D．philosophical



20.The author's main purpose in writing this passage is to _______.



A．interpret the function of forgetting



B．illustrate the process of adapting



C．explain the performance of memory



D．emphasize the importance of learning



Passage Five



Many people believe that beavers are intelligent animals. After all, their dams are fine examples of engineering. The engineering feats of beavers are well known, but it will be useful to recall their main features.



A pair of beavers will construct a dam across a river. The water held back by the dam overflows the bank on either side of the river, flooding the adjacent ground and forming a pond. At some point in the pond the beavers then build their home, which is called a lodge. This consists of a conical pile of branches and sticks of two to six feet in length held together with mud and stones, the top of which projects above the waterline. It serves as a shelter from the elements, a refuge from enemies and a base for food supplies to be drawn upon in winter.



From an engineering point of view the lodge could hardly be improved．Not only does it contain a central chamber just above water level，but it also has one or more escape tunnels，well-insulated walls and a vertical chimney，which regulates the temperature inside and gives air-conditioning．It is altogether a cunning piece of construction，with all modern conveniences．It is，in fact，better protected against the effects of flooding than many human habitations．



Trees are essential to beavers．They eat the bark on the upper branches，and in order to reach these they must fell the trees．Tree-felling is a skilled job，as anyone who has felled even a sapling knows． But beavers fell more than saplings．A pair is said to be able to fell a tree four inches in diameter in 15 minutes．They do it by gnawing all round the trunk，as high up from the ground as they can reach．They often build platforms of mud and earth to enable them to cut through the tree where the trunk is narrower．



The engineering skill of beavers is to a large extent a result of their ability to use their front paws as hands．A female will carry her young held under her chin with her front paws walking on her hind legs．A similar method is used by all beavers when transporting stones or mud，although they also carry such materials on their broad flat tails．The forepaws are also used for burrowing and for dragging heavier logs．



It is easy，therefore，to see why people should talk about the beaver' s skill，cleverness and intelligence．However，the structure of the beaver's brain gives no indication that the animal is any more intelligent than other rodents．Any of its actions，which appear to be the result of a higher order of reasoning，can be shown to be due to instinct and are suspected of being the outcome of an inborn pattern of behavior．



Questions 21-25 are based on Passage Five．



21．The passage implies that beavers prefer to build their home in_____.



A．deep water B．shallow water



C．rivers rather than pond D．1akes rather than rivers



22．The word " elements " in Paragraph 2 means_____.



A．natural habitations for animals



B．environment natural to an individual



C．atmospheric forces as rain, wind or snow



D．substances as earth, water, air and fire



23．The sentence "From an engineering point of view the lodge could hardly be improved "means___．



A．the lodge was too poor to improve



B．the lodge was left much to improve



C．the lodge was nearly perfect



D．it is easy to improve the lodge



24．Beavers fell trees mainly to___．



A．build dams B．build their lodges



C．gain food D．exercise their jaws



25．Which of the following statements is best to describe beavers?



A．They are clever animals and learn quickly．



B．They are more intelligent than other animals．



C．Many of their skills are developed in late life．



D．Many of their skills are inborn capabilities．



Ⅱ．Vocabulary.(10 points, 1 point for each)



Directions：Scan the following passage and find the words which have roughly the same meanings as those given below．The number in the brackets after each word definition refers to the number of paragraph in which the target word is．Write the word you choose on the Answer Sheet．



Camps are either temporary，that is changed from day to day，or they are permanent and may be visited year after year，or they may be used for a few weeks at a time. Temporary camps are the ones we are considering，and these can be elaborate or very，very simple．I prefer the latter，and I am sure the boys will agree with me．



During the autumn and when the weather is dry and the nights not too cool, the best way to camp is in the open，sleeping on beds of boughs，about a roaring fire，and with one blanket under and another over．



Small dog tents，like the ones our soldiers carried in the Civil War, are cheap and very convenient. Each man carried a section，and two made a tent, into which two men crawled when it rained，but in dry weather they preferred to sleep in the open，even when it was freezing．



Shelters of boughs，arranged in an A-formed fashion from a ridge pole make good temporary shelters and are first rate as wind breaks at night．



A shack built of crossed logs requires some time to build and some skill to make，but it is not beyond the reach of any boy who has seen-and who has not-an old-fashioned log shanty．



26.not lasting(Para.1)



27.complicated (Para.1)



28.making a loud sound (Para.2)



29.bed covering (Para.2)



30.moved with the body close to the ground (Para.3)



31.held above other things (Para.3)



32.terribly cold (Para.3)



33.a long rounded piece of wood (Para.4)



34.outside the limits (Para.5)



35.a roughly-built house like a shack (Para.5)



Ⅲ.Summarization.(20 points,2 points for each)



Directions: In this part of the test, there are ten paragraphs. Each of the paragraphs is followed by an incomplete phrase or sentence. Spell out the missing letters of the word on your Answer Sheet.



Paragraph One



High salaries in the electricity, telecommunications and other monopoly industries have drawn strong criticism in China, where the Gini coefficient, now stands at 0.46, exceeding the internationally recognized alarm level of 0.45. So China is considering cutting wages in monopoly industries to reduce the country's widening income gap. A draft directive document has been worked out for this purpose.



36.The need to n ____the income gap.



Paragraph Two



Through operating remote controls and TV sets, people can log onto the Internet, send and receive E-mails, order dishes, and transfer accounts. They can choose different watching angles and show supports to particular teams while watching televised football games. Of course these services are not free. Experts say pay-TV is a little different with digital TV, but both stand for the developing trend of China's television industry.



37.The e_____ of pay-TV.



Paragraph Three



This new kind of website is known as a" weblog ",or " bolg ".A weblog is an online journal, typically consisting of a personal diary or social and political commentary ,sometimes with replies from readers. Blogs have common elements:updated frequently(usually daily); informal; grouped by date with links to archives of older posts.



38.The passage talks about w_____.



Paragraph Four



A fashionable word in English these days is YAHOO, a word popularized by the Internet search engine carrying the same name. The original"yahoos"were quite different. They were the nasty, brutish, short and subhuman savages described in the Gulliver's Travels.Today they are die-hard fans of the home team of any sport or sport enthusiasts who can't help loving the home team.



39.How did the w____ yahoo come?



Paragraph Five



On your interview day, you should arrive at least half an hour earlier. Tell the secretary at the reception desk about your arranged interview as soon as you get there, and wait in the lounge just to relax. But while waiting, watch your posture. When your name is called, let your interviewer see a candidate full of confidence and ready for nothing else but the interview.



40.T_____for interviewees.



Paragraph Six



A BMW is designed to bring confidence and joy to every moment you spend behind the wheel. Over the vast blanket of hard-packed snow and ice during the winter months, to respond with lightning accuracy in each of these situations may be impossible for a human driver, but not for a BMW equipped with All Season Traction.



41.Gua antee of s____ for BMW drivers.



Paragraph Seven



"There are few earthly things more beautiful than a university ," wrote John Mansfield in his tribute to English universities-and his words are equally true today. He admired the splendid beauty of the university, he said, because it was "a place where those who hate ignorance may strive to know, where those who perceive truth may strive to make others see."



42.The paragraph is about the u____ education.



Paragraph Eight



Consumers of electricity usually accept the fact that power cuts frequently occur during thunderstorms. If outages(电力中断)occur on a sunny day, consumers will blame the power company. However, most outages occur due to circumstances beyond the power company's control. Animals with the ability to reach the top of power poles can knock out power of many houses.



43.There are many c_____ for power failure.



Paragraph Nine



A poll was taken recently surveying twelve hundred adults in the United States to find out what they considered important in their lives. Ninety-six percent said that having a good family life was important. Ninety-five percent said that using their mind and abilities was important, which marks a shift in the type of work from physical labor to mental skills.



44.People's v_____ towards life.



Paragraph Ten



Some people feel very nervous when they fly in airplanes. No matter how hard they try, they cannot lower their anxiety. Many notice their anxiety but only a few are conscious of the way they express their tension. Some try to hide their nervousness; some become aggressive, attacking people by making them the butt of cruel jokes.



45.Different r____ to tension when flying.



Ⅳ.Translation.(20 points, 4 points for each)



Directions: In the following passage, there are five groups of underlined sentences. Read the passage and translate these sentences into Chinese. Write your translation on the Answer Sheet.



Only 100 years ago man lived in harmony with nature. There weren't so many people then and their wants were fewer. Whatever wastes were produced could be absorbed by nature and were soon covered over.(46) Today this harmoniousrelationship is threatened by man's lack of foresight and planning, and by his carelessness and greed. For man is slowly poisoning his environment.



Pollution is a "dirty" word. To pollute means to contaminate- to spoil something by introducing impurities which make it unfit or unclean to use. Pollution comes in many forms. We see it, smell it, taste it, drink it ,and stumble through it.(47) We literally live in pollution, and, not surprisingly, it is beginning to threaten our health, our happiness, and our very civilization.



Once we thought of pollution as meaning simply smog- the choking, stinging, dirty air that hovers over cities. But air pollution, while it is still the most dangerous, is only one type of contamination among several which attack the most basic life function.



Through the uncontrolled use of insecticides, man has polluted the land, killing the wildlife. By dumping sewage and chemicals into rivers and lakes, we have contaminated our drinking water. We are polluting the ocean, too, killing the fish and thereby depriving ourselves of an invaluable food supply.



(48) Part of the problem is our exploding population. More and more people produce more wastes. But this problem is intensified by our "throw-away" technology. Each year Americans dispose of 7 million autos, 20 million tons of waste paper,25 million pounds of toothpaste tubes and 48 million cans. We throw away gum wrappers, newspapers, and paper plates. It is easier and cheaper to buy a new one and discard the old, even though 95% of its parts may still be functioning. Soon we will wear clothing made of paper:"Wear it once and throw it away,"will be the slogan of the fashion-conscious.



(49)Where is this all to end? Are we turning the world into a gigantic dump, or is there hope that we can solve the pollution problem? Fortunately, solutions are in sight. A few of them are positivelyingenious.



Take the problem of discarded cars, for instance. They are too bulky to ship as scrap to a steel mill. They must first be flattened. This is done in a giant compressor which can reduce a Cadillac to the size of a television set in a matter of minutes. Any leftover scrap metal is mixed with concrete and made into exceptionally strong bricks that are used in buildings and bridges.



What about water pollution? More and more cities are building sewage-treatment plants.(50) Instead of being dumped into a nearby river or lake, sewage is sent through a system of underground pipes to agiant tank where the water is separated from the solid waste material. The solid material is converted into fertilizer. The sludge can also be made into bricks.

关键字:自考英语

生词表: