1、在职艺术硕士（MFA）全国联考英文阅读理解-试卷 14及答案解析(总分：40.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、英文阅读理解题(总题数：4，分数：40.00)British universities, groaning under the burden of a huge increase in student numbers, are warning that the tradition of a free education is at risk. The universities have threatened to impose an admission fee on students
2、to plug a gap in revenue if the government does not act to improve their finances and scrap some public spending cutbacks. The government responded to the universities“ threat by setting up the most fundamental review of higher education for a generation, under a non-party troubleshooter (调 停人)， Sir
3、 Ron Dearing. One in three school-leavers enters higher education, five times the number when the last review took place thirty years ago. Everyone agrees a system that is feeling the strain after rapid expansion needs a lot more moneybut there is little hope of getting it from the taxpayer and not
4、much scope for attracting more finance from business. Most colleges believe students should contribute to tuition costs, something that is common elsewhere in the world but would mark a revolutionary change in Britaia Universities want the government to introduce a loan scheme for tuition fees and h
5、ave suspended their own threatened action for now. They await Dearing“s advice, hoping it will not be too latesome are already reported to be in financial difficulty. As the century nears its end, the whole concept of what a university should be is under the microscope. Experts ponder how much they
6、can use computers instead of classrooms, talk of the need for lifelong learning and refer to students as “consumers“. The Confederation (联盟) of British Industry, the key employers“ organization, wants even more expansion in higher education to help fight competition on world markets from booming Asi
7、an economies. But the government has doubts about more expansion. The Times newspaper agrees, complaining that quality has suffered as student numbers soared, with close tutorial supervision giving way to “mass production methods more typical of European universities. “ (324 words)（分数：10.00）(1).The
8、chief concern of British universities is_.（分数：2.00）A.how to tackle their present financial difficultyB.how to expand the enrollment to meet the needs of enterprisesC.how to improve their educational technologyD.how to put an end to the current tendency of quality deterioration(2).We can learn from t
9、he passage that in Britain_.（分数：2.00）A.the government pays dearly for its financial policyB.universities are mainly funded by businessesC.higher education is provided free of chargeD.students are ready to accept loan schemes for tuition(3).What was the percentage of high school graduates admitted to
10、 universities in Britain thirty years ago?（分数：2.00）A.20% or so.B.About 15%.C.Above 30%.D.Below 10%.(4).It can be inferred from the passage that_.（分数：2.00）A.the British government will be forced to increase its spending on higher educationB.British employers demand an expansion in enrollment at the e
11、xpense of qualityC.the best way out for British universities is to follow their European counterpartsD.British students will probably have to pay for their higher education in the near future(5).Which of the following is the viewpoint of The Times newspaper?（分数：2.00）A.Expansion in enrollment is boun
12、d to affect the quality of British higher education.B.British universities should expand their enrollment to meet the needs of industry.C.European universities can better meet the needs of the modern world.D.British universities should help fight competition on world markets.There“s a simple premise
13、 behind what Larry Myers does for a living: If you can smell it, you can find it. Myers is the founder of Auburn University“s Institute for Biological Detection Systems , the main task of which is to chase the ultimate in detection devicesan artificial nose. For now, the subject of their research is
14、 little more than a stack of gleaming chips tucked away in a laboratory drawer. But soon, such a tool could be hanging from the belts of police, arson (纵火) investigators and food-safety inspectors. The technology that they are working in would suggest quite reasonably that, within three to five year
15、s, we“ll have some workable sensors ready to use. Such devices might find wide use in places that attract terrorists. Police could detect drugs, bodies and bombs hidden in cars, while food inspectors could easily test food and water for contamination. The implications for revolutionary advances in p
16、ublic safety and the food industry are astonishing. But so, too, are the possibilities for abuse: Such machines could determine whether a woman is ovulating (排卵), without a physical examor even her knowledge. One of the traditional protectors of American liberty is that it has been impossible to sea
17、rch everyone. That“s getting not to be the case. Artificial biosensors created at Auburn work totally differently from anything ever seen before. Aroma Scan, for example, is a desktop machine based on a bank of chips sensitive to specific chemicals that evaporate into the air. As air is sucked into
18、the machine, chemicals pass over the sensor surfaces and produce changes in the electrical current flowing through them. Those current changes are logged into a computer that sorts out odors based on their electrical signatures. Myers says they expect to load a single fingernail-size chip with thous
19、ands of odor receptors (感受器)， enough to create a sensor that“s nearly as sensitive as a dog“s nose. (325 words)（分数：10.00）(1).Which of the following is within the capacity of the artificial nose being developed?（分数：2.00）A.Performing physical examinations.B.Locating places which attract terrorists.C.D
20、etecting“ drugs and water contamination.D.Monitoring food processing.(2).A potential problem which might be caused by the use of an artificial nose is（分数：2.00）A.negligence of public safetyB.an abuse of personal freedomC.a hazard to physical healthD.a threat to individual privacy(3).The word “logged“
21、 (Line 5, Para. 7) most probably means “_“.（分数：2.00）A.presetB.enteredC.processedD.stimulated(4).To produce artificial noses for practical use, it is essential_.（分数：2.00）A.to develop microchips with thousands of odor receptorsB.to invent chips sensitive to various chemicalsC.to design a computer prog
22、ram to sort out smellsD.to find chemicals that can alter the electrical current passing through(5).The author“s attitude towards Larry Myers“ works is_.（分数：2.00）A.cautiousB.approvingC.suspiciousD.overenthusiasticThere are some earth phenomena you can count on, but the magnetic field, someday is not
23、of them. It fluctuates in strength, drifts from its axis, and every few 100,000 years undergo, dramatic polarity reversala period when North Pole becomes South Pole and South Pole becomes North Pole. But how is the field generated, and why is it so unstable? Groundbreaking research by two French geo
24、physicists promises to shed some light on the mystery. Using 80 meters of deep sea sediment (沉淀物) core, they have obtained measurements lots of magnetic-field intensity that span 11 polarity reversals and four million years. The analysis reveals that intensity appears to fluctuate with a clear, well
25、-defined rhythm. Although the strength of the magnetic field varies irregularly during the short term, there seems to be an inevitable long-term decline preceding each polarity reversal. When the poles flipa process that takes several hundred thousand yearsthe magnetic field rapidly regains its stre
26、ngth and the cycle is repeated. The results have caused a stir among geophysicists. The magnetic field is thought to originate from molten (熔化的) iron in the outer core, 3, 000 kilometers beneath the earth“s surface. By studying mineral grains found in material ranging from rocks to clay articles, pr
27、evious researchers have already been able to identify reversals dating back 170 million years, including the most recent switch 730, 000 years ago. How and why they occur, however, has been widely debated. Several theories link polarity flips to external disasters such as meteor (陨星) impacts. But Pe
28、ter Olson, a geophysicist at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, says this is unlikely if the French researchers are right. In fact, Olson says intensity that predictably declines from one reversal to the next contradicts 90 percent of the models currently under study. If the results prove to
29、 be valid geophysicists will have a new theory to guide them in their quest to understand the earth“s inner physics. It certainly points the direction for future research. (333 words)（分数：10.00）(1).Which of the following titles is most appropriate to the passage?（分数：2.00）A.Polarity Reversal; A Fantas
30、tic Phenomenon of NatureB.Measurement of the Earth“s Magnetic-Field IntensityC.Formation of the Two Poles of the EarthD.A New Approach to the Study of Geophysics(2).The word “flip“ (Line 7, Para. 2) most probably means “_“.（分数：2.00）A.declineB.intensifyC.fluctuateD.reverse(3).What have the two French
31、 geophysicists discovered in their research?（分数：2.00）A.Some regularity in the changes of the earth“s magnetic field.B.Some causes of the fluctuation of the earth“s magnetic field.C.The origin of the earth“s magnetic field.D.The frequency of polarity reversals.(4).The French geophysicists“ study is d
32、ifferent from currently prevailing theories in（分数：2.00）A.its identification of the origin of the earth“s magnetic fieldB.the way the earth“s magnetic intensity is measuredC.its explanation of the shift in the earth“s polarityD.the way the earth“s fluctuation rhythm is defined(5).In Peter Oslo“s opin
33、ion the French experiment_.（分数：2.00）A.is likely to direct further research in the inner physics of the earthB.has successfully solved the mystery of polarity reversalsC.is certain to help predict external disastersD.has caused great confusion among the world“s geophysicistsThe rise of multinational
34、corporations (跨国公司), global marketing, new communications technologies, and shrinking cultural differences have led to an unparalleled increase in global public relations or PR Surprisingly, since modern PR was largely an American invention, the U.S. leadership in public relations is being threatene
35、d by PR efforts in other countries. Ten years ago, for example, the world“s top five public relations agencies were American-owned In 1991, only one was. The British in particular are becoming more sophisticated and creative. A recent survey found that more than half of all British companies include
36、 PR as part of their corporate (公司的) planning activities, compared to about one-third of U.S. companies. It may not be long before London replaces New York as the capital of PR. Why is America lagging behind in the global PR race? First, Americans as a whole tend to be fairly provincial and take mor
37、e of an interest in local affairs. Knowledge of world geography, for example, has never been strong in this country. Secondly, Americans lag behind their European and Asian counterparts (相对应的人) in knowing a second language. Less than five percent of Burson-Marshall“s U.S. employees know two language
38、s. Ogilvy and Mather has about the same percentage. Conversely, some European firms have half or more of their employees fluent in a second language. Finally, people involved in PR abroad tend to keep a closer eye on international affairs. In the financial PR area, for instance, most Americans read
39、the Wall Street Journal. Overseas, their counterparts read the Journal as well as the Financial Times of London and The Economist, publications not often read in this country. Perhaps the PR industry might take a lesson from Ted Turner of CNN (Cable News Network). Turner recently announced that the
40、word “foreign“ would no longer be used on CNN news broadcasts. According to Turner, global communications have made the nations of the world so interdependent that there is no longer any such thing as foreign. (341 words)（分数：10.00）(1).According to the passage, U.S. leadership in public relations is
41、being threatened because of_.（分数：2.00）A.an unparalleled increase in the number of public relations companiesB.shrinking cultural differences and new communications technologiesC.the decreasing number of multinational corporations in the U.S.D.increased efforts of other countries in public relations(
42、2).London could soon replace New York as the center of PR because_.（分数：2.00）A.British companies are more ambitious than U.S. companiesB.British companies place more importance on PR than U.S. companiesC.British companies are heavily involved in planning activitiesD.four of the world“s top public rel
43、ations agencies are British-owned(3).The word “provincial“ (Line 2, Para. 3) most probably means “_“.（分数：2.00）A.limited in outlookB.like people from the provincesC.rigid in thinkingD.interested in world financial affairs(4).We learn from the third paragraph that employees in the American PR industry
44、（分数：2.00）A.speak at least one foreign language fluentlyB.are ignorant about world geographyC.are not as sophisticated as their European counterpartsD.enjoy reading a great variety of English business publications(5).What lesson might the PR industry take from Ted Turner of CNN?（分数：2.00）A.American PR
45、 companies should be more internationally-minded.B.The American PR industry should develop global communications technologies.C.People working in PR should be more fluent in foreign languages.D.People involved in PR should avoid using the word “foreign“.在职艺术硕士（MFA）全国联考英文阅读理解-试卷 14答案解析(总分：40.00，做题时间：
46、90 分钟)一、英文阅读理解题(总题数：4，分数：40.00)British universities, groaning under the burden of a huge increase in student numbers, are warning that the tradition of a free education is at risk. The universities have threatened to impose an admission fee on students to plug a gap in revenue if the government does
47、 not act to improve their finances and scrap some public spending cutbacks. The government responded to the universities“ threat by setting up the most fundamental review of higher education for a generation, under a non-party troubleshooter (调 停人)， Sir Ron Dearing. One in three school-leavers enter
48、s higher education, five times the number when the last review took place thirty years ago. Everyone agrees a system that is feeling the strain after rapid expansion needs a lot more moneybut there is little hope of getting it from the taxpayer and not much scope for attracting more finance from bus
49、iness. Most colleges believe students should contribute to tuition costs, something that is common elsewhere in the world but would mark a revolutionary change in Britaia Universities want the government to introduce a loan scheme for tuition fees and have suspended their own threatened action for now. They await Dearing“s advice, hoping it will not be too latesome are already reported to be in financial difficulty. As the century nears its end, the whole concept of what a university should be is under the microscope. Experts pond
