1、中国矿业大学考博英语真题 2013 年及答案解析(总分:100.00,做题时间:90 分钟)一、Part Reading Compr(总题数:0,分数:0.00)二、Passage One(总题数:1,分数:8.00)“Your eyes are two pools that twinkle like stars in the sky.“ These sweet things are traditionally best sent in feather-inked script on fine, perfumed parchment. Nowadays, though, more and mo
2、re lovers are using e-mail or cell phone short message services (SMS) to say a few nice words to each other. The result: a new culture of love-letter writing has evolved and is rewriting the rules in how we express our love. Make no mistake: in many cases the love e-mail messages significantly resem
3、ble their aromatic predecessors. The verbal imagery has hardly changed. SMS messages, however, have necessitated the development of a new, shorter form of love talk. Experts believe, in fact, that far more people now carry out sweet talk in cyberspace than in the time before e-mail and short messagi
4、ng came along. When people communicate over e-mail or short messages, everything is much more relaxed, less serious, and this helps the sweet words flow. Nicola Doering, a media researcher at the Technical University of Ilmenau in Thueringen, Germany, emphasizes that for many people contact over e-m
5、ail or SMS is simpler: “The language is a different one, here than in traditional letters; people tend to write more like they speak.“ This means that a message writer might not have to agonize over every word, as is often expected with traditional love letters. This is obviously encouraging for man
6、y people. For longer, particularly romantic love letters, e-mail writer also reach back into the language of poetry, “Your calf-blue eyes“ is typical for the kind of phrasings found in e-mail love letters. At least one traditional symbol between lovers has made a striking comeback. Even in the love
7、letters of the 19th century, one often found the letter X as a symbol of a kiss. Many paper love letters would have three Xs at the bottom as a closing. And this symbol is often used today between lovers in their e-mail messages. In spite of all the technological advancement that e-mail represents,
8、classic love letters on paper still have a special meaning, the experts say. Ink on paper simply affects many people more strongly than lines on a computer screen. It appears more serious, more binding, as if written for all eternity. Sometimes people want to have something to touch, a letter that y
9、ou can really hold in your hand.(分数:8.00)(1).From this passage we learn that the love e-mail messages _.(分数:2.00)A.haven“t changed the convention in how people express loveB.are often sent on fine, perfumed parchmentC.represent a traditional culture of love-letter writingD.are still like traditional
10、 letters in many cases(2).Three Xs used in lovers“ e-mail message symbolize _.(分数:2.00)A.a striking comebackB.the language of poetryC.three kissesD.closing of the letters(3).It is implied that experts think classic love letters _.(分数:2.00)A.have stronger power to move the feelingsB.resemble lines on
11、 a computer screenC.cannot be touched by modern peopleD.exclude the technological advancement(4).The author“s tone in this passage is _.(分数:2.00)A.mockingB.objectiveC.complimentaryD.approving三、Passage Two(总题数:1,分数:8.00)In recent years, there has been a steady assault on salt from the doctors: salt i
12、s bad for youregardless of your health. Politicians also got on board: “There is a direct relationship,“ US congressman Neal Smith noted, “between the amount of sodium a person consumes and heart disease, circulatory disorders, stroke and even early death.“ Frightening, if true! But many doctors and
13、 medical researchers are now beginning to feel the salt scare has gone too far. “All this hue and cry about eating salt is unnecessary,“ Dr. Dustan insists. “For most of us it probably doesn“t make much difference how much salt we eat.“ Dustan“s most recent short-term study of 150 people showed that
14、 those with normal blood pressure experienced no change at all when placed on an extremely low-salt diet, or later when salt was reintroduced. Of the hypertensive subjects, however, half of those on the low-salt diet did experience a drop in blood pressure, which returned to its previous level when
15、salt was reintroduced. “An adequate to somewhat excessive salt intake has probably saved many more lives than it has cost in the general population,“ notes Dr. John H. Laragh. “So a recommendation that the whole population should avoid salt makes no sense.“ Medical experts agree that everyone should
16、 practice reasonable “moderation“ in salt consumption. For the average person, a moderate amount might run from four to ten grams a day, or roughly 1/2 to 1/3 of a teaspoon. The equivalent of one to two grams of this salt allowance would come from the natural sodium in food. The rest would be added
17、in processing, preparation or at the table. Those with kidney, liver or heart problems may have to limit dietary salt, if their doctor advises. But even the very vocal “low salt“ exponent, Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr. admits that “we do not know whether increased sodium consumption causes hypertension
18、.“ In fact, there is growing scientific evidence that other factors may be involved: deficiencies in calcium, potassium, perhaps magnesium; obesity (much more dangerous than sodium); genetic predisposition; stress. “It is not your enemy,“ says Dr. Laragh. “Salt is the No. 1 natural component of all
19、human tissue, and the idea that you don“t need it is wrong. Unless your doctor has proven that you have a salt-related health problem, there is no reason to give it up.“(分数:8.00)(1).According to some doctors and politicians, the amount of salt consumed _.(分数:2.00)A.exhibits as an aggravating factor
20、to people in poor healthB.cures diseases such as stroke and circulatory disordersC.correlates highly with some diseasesD.is irrelevant to people suffering from heart disease(2).From Dr. Dustan“s study we can infer that _.(分数:2.00)A.a low-salt diet may be prescribed for some peopleB.the amount of sal
21、t intake has nothing to do with one“s blood pressureC.the reduction of salt intake can cure a hypertensive patientD.an extremely low-salt diet makes no difference to anyone(3).In the third paragraph, Dr. Laragh implies that _.(分数:2.00)A.people should not be afraid of taking excessive saltB.doctors s
22、hould not advise people to avoid saltC.an adequate to excessive salt intake is recommended for people in diseaseD.excessive salt intake has claimed some victims in the general population(4).What is the main message of this text?(分数:2.00)A.The salt scare is not justifiedB.The cause of hypertension is
23、 now understoodC.The moderate use of salt is recommendedD.Salt consumption is to be promoted四、Passage Three(总题数:1,分数:8.00)For the teenagers who cast off their daily lives and head off for South America, Africa and Asia, it may offer the time of their young lives. But research published yesterday sho
24、ws that the so-called “gap year“ between school and university is not as beneficial as has been suggested. In five years the gap year has metamorphosed from a radical activity of a rebellious student generation into an obligation that must be fulfilled by ambitious future professionals. It has spawn
25、ed in the process a lucrative commercial market providing tourist style trips. Prince William“s gap year venture to Chile in 2000 created institutional acceptability, and about 200,000 people a year between 18 and 25 now take 12 months out of study. “No longer were gap years for rebels and dropouts
26、and people with nothing better to do; now they were for hopeful professionals and future kings,“ said Kate Simpson, from the school of geography at the university of Newcastle, who based her research on projects in South America and talked to hundreds of students on their return. “A gap year has bec
27、ome a requirement for success. It is now part of your progression to employability, as necessary as your A-levels and as inevitable as your degree. As the gap year has been professionalized, so it has increasingly been marketed at future professionals, with an assumption that further education and s
28、uccessful employment are to follow.“ Ms Simpson said that without explaining how values such as “broad horizons“ and “character building“ are supposed to be achieved by gap years, they have been promoted by people such as the foreign secretary, Jack Straw, and the University College Admission Servic
29、e (Ucas). Mr. Straw said: “Our society can only benefit from travel which promotes character, confidence and decision-making skills.“ According to Ucas: “The benefits of a well-structured year out are now widely recognized by universities and colleges and cannot fail to stand you in good stead in la
30、ter life.“ However, these statements did not always reflect the reality. Many of the 50 organizations, providing package trips for gap year students this year designed them to be acceptable to parents and future employers, and had little concern for the communities the students were volunteering to
31、help. One example was in Ecuador where students had been sent to “help the local community.“ The villagers returned home from work to discover their houses had been painted by the volunteers without prior consultation. “Groups of 18-year-olds arrive somewhere with no skills and set about building a
32、bridge or school often without proper consultation with the local community and what they might want or need. They get a level of experience and decision-making which they would not get at home, but also doing things in other people“s hospitals and schools they would never be allowed at home.“ Gap s
33、tudents had been involved in delivering babies, construction projects and teaching without prior trainingsomething banned in Britain. A typical provider advertised: “Are you looking for a travel adventure with a purpose, one that gives you experience beyond tourism and provides practical help to loc
34、al communities.“ Its slogan was: “Develop people. Share cultures. Build futures.“ For Ms Simpson, the industry “appears amateurish and outdated“. The idea seemed to be that ancient, highly civilized cultures could benefit from the introduction of large numbers of unskilled 18-year-olds. “While such
35、an approach may produce some valuable contributions, the risks are high. The gap year industry cannot rely on its good intentions to assure the quality of its work.“ The projects are often used to the benefit of the visiting students, as opposed to the residents. In many projects, the students pract
36、ice being adults and professionals using local people as guinea pigs. “Projects did not have to be based on the exploitative and dehumanizing relationships. I am sure that many students learn a great deal from their gap years, but they could gain so much more if they experiment with local people.“ T
37、he best projects were those residents know in advance in which the local people participate and ask for what they want. “If the students and locals work together to form friendships, then the true potential of the gap year could be realized,“ Ms Simpson added.(分数:8.00)(1).According to the passage, w
38、hich of the following is NOT true about the “gap year“?(分数:2.00)A.It has met strong protest from local communities outside BritainB.It has been officially accepted by more universitiesC.It has been linked with students“ academic study and future employmentD.It has been developed into a growing indus
39、try(2).The expression “guinea pigs“ in the sentence “In many projects, the students practice being adults and professionals using local people as guinea pigs.“ (para. 8) can be paraphrased as _.(分数:2.00)A.beasts and brutesB.control groups in a studyC.subjects for experimentsD.dirty animals such as p
40、igs(3).It can be concluded from the passage that according to Ms. Simpson, _.(分数:2.00)A.the gap year industry will undergo a greater developmentB.the activities of gap students are hated by most local peopleC.gap year activity should show more concern for locals as wellD.gap students have made great
41、 contribution to the local communities(4).Which of the following can serve as the best title of the passage?(分数:2.00)A.Broad horizons and character building: targets for university studentsB.Requirement for success: gap year equals A-levels and academic degreeC.The booming gap year industry: good in
42、tentions provide no guaranteeD.Mind the gap: why student year out may do more harm than good五、Passage Four(总题数:1,分数:8.00)The danger of misinterpretation is greatest, of course, among speakers who, actually speak different native tongues, or come from different cultural backgrounds, because cultural
43、difference necessarily implies different assumptions about natural and obvious ways to be polite. Anthropologist Thomas Kochman gives the example of a white office worker who appeared with a bandaged arm and felt rejected because her black fellow worker didn“t mention it. The doubly wounded worker a
44、ssumed that her silent colleague didn“t notice or didn“t care. But the co-worker was purposely not calling attention to something her colleague might not want to talk about. She let her decide whether or not to mention it, being considerate by not imposing. Kochman says, based on his research, that
45、these differences reflect recognizable black and white styles. An American woman visiting England was repeatedly offendedeven, on bad days, enragedwhen the British ignored her in setting in which she thought they should pay attention. For example, she was sitting at a booth in a railway-station cafe
46、teria. A couple began to settle into the opposite seat in the same booth. They unloaded their luggage; they laid their coats on the seat; he asked what she would like to eat and went off to get it; she slid into the booth facing the American. And throughout all this, they showed no sign of having no
47、ticed that someone was already sitting in the booth. When the British woman lit up a cigarette, the American had a concrete object for her anger. She began ostentatiously looking around for another table to move to. Of course there was none; that“s why the British couple had sat in her booth in the
48、first place. The smoker immediately crushed out her cigarette and apologized. This showed that she had noticed that someone else was sitting in the booth, and that she was not inclined to disturb her. But then she went back to pretending the American wasn“t there, a ruse in which her husband collabo
49、rated when he returned with their food and they ate it. To the American, politeness requires talk between strangers forced to share a booth in a cafeteria, if only a fleeting “Do you mind if I sit down?“ or a conventional, “Is anyone sitting here?“ even if it“s obvious no one is. The omission of such talk seemed to her like dreadful rudeness. The American couldn“t see that another system of politeness was at work. By not acknowledging here presence, the British couple freed her from the obligation to acknowledge theirs. The American expected a