2004高口真题答案2004年9月真题及答案 word 版

2004年9高级口译资格证书第一阶段考试 SECTION 1: LISTENING TEST (30 MINUTES) Part A: Spot Dictation Directions: In this part of the test, you will hear a passage and read the same passage with blanks in it. Fill in each of the blanks with the word or words you have heard on the tape. Write your answer in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET. Remember you will hear the passage ONLY ONCE. Every nation and region in the world has its own set of folk heroes. Sometimes, the heroes from _______ (1) are strikingly similar. When this is true, the stories connected with these figures can _______ (2) between two seemingly different cultures. Often, however, heroes from one culture or region are _______ (3). When this is the case, the heroic figure demonstrates the unique aspects of a specific people, not merely _______ (4) to similar circumstances. Now, in this lecture, we will look at a number of American folk heroes in order to focus on several aspects of _______ (5). By folk heroes, we mean figures whose stories have evolved over time and whose legends cannot be _______ (6). Instead of being created by a single writer, folk heroes evolve through time and reflect the efforts and creativity of _______ (7). Of course, professional writers sometimes _______ (8) folk heroes, just as those who create folk heroes often incorporate aspects of _______ (9) into their stories. Nonetheless, folk heroes and the folklore concerning them are _______ (10) by people who perform _______ (11) their audiences. One example of this process might be the poet Homer reciting his heroic tales to a _______ (12) audience of ancient Greeks. This was a favorite form of entertainment long before _______ (13). America is a diverse country in which various people and sub-cultures embrace their own unique history and lore. _______ (14) under these circumstances, a wide variety of heroes have become a part of _______ (15). Any yet many of these heroes share similarities that make them distinctively American, in spite of _______ (16). By focusing on these similarities, we can _______ (17) of America and its people. For hundreds of years, Americans have struggled to understand their place in the New World. There were _______ (18) in the New World. In addition, the social and economic position of people was not as _______ (19) as in Europe, Africa and Asia. As a result, storytellers created heroes _______ (20) the unique opportunities and challenges that America provided. Part B: Listening Comprehension Directions: In this part of the test there will be some short talks and conversations. After each one, you will be asked some questions. The talks, conversations and questions will be spoken ONLY ONCE. Now listen carefully and choose the right answer to each question you have heard and write the letter of the answer you have chosen in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET. Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following conversation. 1. (A) In the professor's home. (B) In the professor's office. (C) In the classroom. (D) In the school library. 2. (A) Children always have the same accents as their mothers. (B) Most adult language learners can lose their accents. (C) Students don't usually learn their classmates' accents. (D) There will be big misunderstandings if you speak with accents. 3. (A) He used the wrong stress. (B) He used the wrong intonation. (C) He misunderstood the word. (D) He spoke the word with a very different accent. 4. (A) Australian. (B) British. (C) Indian. (D) South African. 5. (A) To drop the pronunciation class. (B) To sign up for a listening / speaking class. (C) To check in the library the schedule for the new semester. (D) To wait to make a decision about the pronunciation class. Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following news. 6. (A) Because of the accumulation of funds in the real estate market. (B) Because of the rising house prices and government budget deficits. (C) Because of the resignation of the Finance Minister Gorden Brown. (D) Because of the increase in the number of the houses being sold. 7. (A) Business confidence will probably remain unchanged for the next year. (B) Business confidence was the highest in May since April 2001. (C) Published National indexes show confidence unchanged in Germany and Italy and falling in France. (D) The index of confidence may have stayed at plus 5, the highest in 3 years. 8. (A) They will deliver solid earning results this year. (B) They will break even at the end of this year. (C) They posted another year of losses due to bad loan write-offs. (D) They reported mixed results for the year ended March 31. 9. (A) 50. (B) 100. (C) 150. (D) 200. 10. (A) A Korean patrol boat operated illegally in Japanese waters. (B) A Korean fishing vessel overturned and the captain was fatally wounded. (C) A Japanese Coast Guard patrol boat fired teargas grenades at a Korean fishing vessel. (D) A Japanese fishing vessel was repeatedly ordered to stop operating in Korean waters. Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following interview. 11. (A) Because the usage of the Internet is widespread now. (B) Because Internet addiction is growing on college campuses. (C) Because the computer is accessible to everyone on college campuses. (D) Because Internet addiction is less harmful than other addictions. 12. (A) She cannot go to sleep without surfing on the Net first. (B) She and other people are surfing on the Net in the middle of the night. (C) She doesn't know when her Internet compulsiveness is turning into an addiction. (D) She isn't sure the exact amount of time is really the issue. 13. (A) People's work performance and school performance may be affected. (B) People may lose social skills that make face-to-face relationships successful. (C) People may be cheated by those with false identities. (D) People may have no time for taking walks and other leisure activities. 14. (A) Work performance. (B) School performance. (C) Relationships. (D) Mental health. 15. (A) Practice self-discipline. (B) Have some sort of balance in life. (C) Set an alarm clock. (D) Act upon your friend's advice. Questions 16 to 20 are based on the following talk. 16. (A) In the late 1940s. (B) In the early 1950s. (C) In the late 1950s. (D) In the early 1960s. 17. (A) Abstract Expressionism. (B) The artistic movement that immediately preceded it. (C) The internal struggles of the individual artists. (D) Mass-produced visual media and the design of common household objects. 18. (A) Abstract Expressionism was a very personal art. (B) Abstract Expressionism was more easily accessible to the masses than Pop Art. (C) Abstract Expressionism reflected a direct relationship to the actual world. (D) Abstract Expressionism was a little bit influenced by Pop Art. 19. (A) To direct art from the personalities of the individual artists towards the world. (B) To impose a unified symbolic meaning on his collection of materials. (C) To concentrate less on the objects and more on the images he found. (D) To set the stage for further development in Pop Art. 20. (A) Because their use of found objects and images from everyday life was innovative. (B) Because they believed that these images reflected the cultural values of contemporary society. (C) Because they use everyday objects found on the street as the material for their art. (D) Because they combined and repeated images from print media to make one single artwork. SECTION 2: READING TEST (30 minutes) Directions: In this section you will read several passages. Each one is followed by several questions about it. You are to choose ONE best answer, (A), (B), (C) or (D), to each question. Answer all the questions following each passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in that passage and write the letter of the answer you have chosen in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET. Questions 1-5 Valentine's Day is tomorrow, and we are all thinking about true love and heart-shaped chocolate candy. Well, maybe not all of us. Some of us, actually, are considering the quantifiable aspects of divorce. In America today, some 50 percent of marriages are predicted to end in divorce. And at the University of Washington in Seattle they say they can tell you exactly — well, almost exactly — which ones those will be. A psychologist, a mathematician, and a pathologist have devised what they call a proven mathematical formula for detecting which relationships will go sour — thereby holding out hope that such couples can overcome their problems, and avoid divorce. "We have been able to predict that divorce will happen before [it does]. That's old news," says John Gottman, emeritus professor of psychology. "But what we have now is a scientific model for understanding why we can predict it with such accuracy." The work marks the first time a mathematic model is being used to understand such deep personal human interactions, adds James Murray, professor of applied mathematics. "It is totally objective. And our prediction of which couples would divorce within a four-year period was 94 percent accurate." This is how it works: Couples face each other and discuss — each speaking in turn — a subject over which they have disagreed more than once in the past. They are wired to detect various physiological data, such as pulse rates, and they're also videotaped. A session lasts a mere 15 minutes. The research team watches and analyzes the tapes and data, awarding plus or minus points depending on the type of interactions and according to a standard scoring system. Everything is then translated into equations and plotted on a graph, which the researchers have dubbed the "Dow-Jones Industrial Average for marital conversation." Once this is done, different situations are simulated and analyzed from the equations and graphs, and predictions are made. Over the past 16 years more than 700 couples (at different stages of their marriages) took part in the research. But let's go back a moment. It all starts, say, with a chat about mothers-in-law — apparently one of the hot topics of contention among couples, along with money and sex, according to Dr. Murray. "The husband might say to his wife, 'Your mother really is a pain in the neck.' Well, that's a minus two points. A shrug, that's a no-no — so minus one. And rolled eyes — very negative; that's minus two." If however, the husband were to say, "Your mother is a pain in the neck… but she is sometimes funny," then, according to the researchers, you would take away two pints and then give one back. If the husband cracked a smile, he would get another point. At the end of all the additions and subtractions, a stable marriage is indicated by having five more positive points than negative ones. Otherwise, warns the team, the marriage is in trouble. In trouble — but not doomed. The whole point of the model, says Dr. Gottman, is that it gives therapists new understanding with which they can help couples overcome patterns of interaction and prevent divorce. "What we are suggesting," says Murray, "is that couples who take this experiment then be told the prediction and realize they are going to have to both change their behavior and repair what is wrong." Not everyone buys into this model. Bonnie Jacobson, a clinical psychologist and processor at New York University, says it is "absolutely impossible" to understand the workings of a relationship via a one-size-fits-all model. "For mostly every couple I have seen, it's hard to see how they got together in the first place," she says. "So unless you really get to know the nuanced dynamics, you will never 'get it' or be able to help." Christine Fasano was married for only 14 months before getting a divorce last year. She agrees the dynamics of a relationship are nuanced and complex — but also sees merit in the University of Washington study's basic assumption that if one looks starkly at interaction between a couple, it is possible to ascertain whether the relationship is headed toward demise. "I'm not surprises the model works," she says. "It's actually not that profound. My basic observation of couples that are happily married is that they treat each other well. That is basically what they are saying, and that is hard to argue with." So, any final advice for Valentine's Day from the divorce research team out in Washington? "I would never give advice on matters of the heart," says Murray, who, incidentally, has been married 45 years. "But I suppose the bottom line is, yes, communication. And being good to one another. That is nice to quantify." 1. The mathematical model is designed by these scientists ________. (A) to figure out the of probability of divorce (B) to predict and help avoid divorce (C) for the newly-married young couples (D) on the basis of physiological data 2. Which of the following CANNOT be found about the mathematical formula? (A) It is quite popular and has been widely accepted. (B) It has been experimented with over 700 couples. (C) It has been invented by a number of scientists from related fields. (D) It is proved useful as more marriages end in divorce. 3. In the sentence "Not every one buys into the model." (para.6) the expression "buys into" can be interpreted as ________. (A) pays to acquire (B) supports fully (C) have confidence in (D) understands and accepts 4. Christine Fasano is introduced in the passage because ________. (A) her divorce was predicted and avoided by the formula (B) her divorce proved the effectiveness of the mathematical model (C) she thought the rationale behind the formula is understandable (D) she argued that divorce could be prevented by frequent communication 5. The love equation employs all of the following methods EXCEPT ________. (A) It is based on the analysis of recordings of marital conversation (B) It uses and addition and subtraction system to record the data (C) It makes predictions from analysis of equations and graphs (D) It uses the interviews of each of the spouses separately Questions 6-10 When Timothy Spahr finally knocked off work on Jan.13, after more than 10 hours on the job, he figured he was at last done for the night. Spahr's task as an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center fro Astrophysics, in Cambridge, Mass., is to collect reports of asteroids that might one day pass near Earth. On that Tuesday, he had been processing observations from an automated telescope in New Mexico when he noticed a pinpoint of light that might fit the profile. He calculated the object's orbit and, as usual, posted the information on the Minor Planet Center website for other astronomers to see. Then he went off to dinner with a friends. What happened next guaranteed that Spahr's workday wasn't nearly over. It also triggered a debate among astronomers about how quickly the public should be informed about dangers from space — and how sure scientists need to be before issuing such warnings. Several times in the past, sky watchers have announced that a rogue asteroid might threaten Earth — triggering the usual banner headlines — only to retract the warning a few days later. But while saying "never mind" is embarrassing, it would be much worse to keep a real danger quiet. And that's why Spahr's drawn-out workday was a prime topic of discussion at the Planetary Defense conference organized by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and held last week in Garden Grove, Calif. While Spahr dined, a German amateur astronomer visited the Minor Planet website, noted the new object, called 2004 AS1, and noticed further that its brightness was expected to increase an almost unbelievable 4,000% in the next day or so — an indication that it was approaching with blistering speed. Then he plotted the orbit Spahr had calculated and realized that the chunk of rock, estimated at the time to be about 100 ft. across, was on a direct collision course with Earth — specifically, somewhere in the northern hemisphere — and only days away. At that size, it would probably explode in the atmosphere a few miles up with the force of a one-megaton H-bomb, enough to wreak havoc on anything directly below. When the German amateur posted an alert on an asteroid watchers e-mail list, astronomers around the world went into high gear. "By the time I got home at around midnight," says Spahr, "there were five messages waiting on my answering machine." Over the next several hours, he and others raced to try to figure out whether Earth truly was in danger. "All of us were initially very skeptical," says Clark Chapman, an astronomer at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo. "We thought it was a mistake or bad data or someone playing a trick." But when Steve Chesley, at NASA'S Jet Propulsion Laboratory, checked Spahr's calculations, he came up with a 1-in-4 probability of a strike. "It was a responsible analysis," says Chapman. "It wasn't mistaken in any obvious way." There was one hitch: the asteroid's projected trajectory was based on only four observations over a one-hour period, hardly enough to be definitive. It would take another look to nail down its path. Usually a threatening asteroid is potted years in advance. This time, with just days to spare, astronomers had to get their second look right away. So Chesley did some more calculations to find what's called the keyhole — the tiny region of sky where 2004 AS1 should be if the orbit was correct — and put those coordinates out on the Internet. "It clearly wasn't time to make an announcement," says Chapman, who denies a BBC report that he was on the verge of telephoning the White House that night. "But if we still didn't know the next morning, I think we would have been obliged to alert people." Fortunately, the wait was not long. At around 3:30 E.T. that morning, Brian Warner, an amateur astronomer from Colorado Springs. Colo., aimed a telescope at the keyhole and found it was empty.2004 AS1 wasn't going to hit Earth after all, and probably never will — luckily, since it turns out to be more like 1,600 ft. across. Next time, Spahr won't be depending on a sharp-eyed amateur. "Within two days after the incident," he say, "we had software to check for future impacts automatically." 6. Which of the following cannot be concluded from the statement "What happened next guaranteed that Spahr's workday wasn't nearly over." (para.2)? (A) He continued work after dinner with a friend. (B) He sent more information on the Minor Planet Center website. (C) His approach caused much attention and confusion. (D) His approach led to heated debate and discussion. 7. "Spahr's drawn-out workday was a prime topic of discussion at the Planetary Defense conference" (para.2) because ________. (A) it is concerned with the protection of Earth from asteroids (B) it leads to an important discovery in astronautics (C) it is related to professional ethics of astronomers in issuing warnings (D) it caused panic and confusion among the general public 8. It can be found from the introduction of the German amateur astronomer that ________. (A) his prediction of the asteroid's collision with Earth was out of imagination (B) his calculation of the speed and direction of the asteroid was correct (C) amateurs are amateurs, and their prediction is often nonsensical (D) warnings of dangers from space should be cautious and careful 9. When NASA's Steve Chesleys reached the 1-in-4 probability of a strike from the asteroid, he ________. (A) supposed that the German amateur astronomer was playing a trick (B) disagreed with the practice of giving such warnings so casually (C) implied that the movement of the asteroid should be closely watched (D) strongly proposed that action must be taken to defend Earth 10. Which of the following conveys the major message from the last two paragraphs? (A) Amateurs and professional astronomers coordinate closely in their effort. (B) The scientists reported to the White House about their discovery. (C) The hasty prediction of the threatening asteroid came off eventually. (D) It turned out that the 2004AS1 did not hit Earth as predicted by amateurs. Questions 11-15 Twenty years ago there was panic in Cupertino, Calif. Only a week remained before the team of whiz kids designing Apple's radical new computer had to turn in the final code. The giant factory was ready. The soon-to-be-famous Super Bowl commercial was ready. But the computer wasn't. As recounted by software wizard Andy Hertzfeld on a new cyberdigital history site (folklore.org), the already overworked Mac team trudged back to the cubicles for seven days of debugging hell, fueled by espresso chocolate beans and a dream. And on Jan.24, 1984, their leader, Apple confounder Steve Jobs, recited a verse from "The Times They Are A-Changin," then formally unveiled the Macintosh, a boxy little guy with a winning smile icon on its nine-inch monochrome screen. The Mac-oids fully expected to make computer history, and they did. What surprises them now is that their creation is still around two decades later. Only nine years after the first personal computer (a build-it-yourself box whose only input was a set of switches), Apple's team had delivered an experience that would persist into the next century. This was the graphical user interface (GUI), a mind-blowing contrast to the pre-1984 standard of glowing green characters and arcane commands. Though Apple didn't come up with the idea of windows on a screen and a mouse to let people naturally manipulate information, the Macintosh refined and popularized those concepts. Lots of people criticized — and some made fun of — those advances at the time. But even Apple's rivals became convinced that the GUI was groovy. Now, no matter what computer you use, you're using, essentially, a Mac. The original Mac was costly, underpowered and had no cursor keys. Early sales disappointed Apple, and the then CEO John Sculley fired Jobs in 1985. Eventually, Mac became equipped with more memory and storage, and people began to discover the machine's ability to become a tool for the new pursuit of desktop publishing. The machine began to take off. But the business world never warmed to Macintosh, and by the mid-90's tech pundits were crafting Apple obituaries. In 1997 prodigal cofounder Jobs returned and restored Apple's luster with innovations like the eye-popping iMac. "I think Apple's now doing the best work it's ever done," says Jobs. "But all of us on the Mac team consider it the high point of our professional careers. I only wish we knew a fraction of what we know now." Even now for its 25 million users, the Macintosh is a source of passion. (Journalists know that a disparaging word about an iMac or a PowerBook will unleash a hundred flames from rabid Apple-heads.) Steve Jobs thinks he knows why. "In the modern world there aren't a lot of products where the people who make them love them. How many products are made that way these days?" If that's so, then why is the Mac market share, even after Apple's recent revival, sputtering at a measly 5 percent? Jobs has a theory about that, too. Once a company devises a great product, he says, it has a monopoly in that realm, and concentrates less on innovation that protecting its turf. "The Mac-user interface was a 10-year monopoly," says Jobs. "Who ended up running the company? Sales guys. At the critical juncture in the late '80s, when they should have gone for market share, they went for profits. They made obscene profits for several years. And their products became mediocre. And then their monopoly ended with Windows 95. They behaved like a monopoly, and it came back to bite them, which always happens." A wicked smile cracks the bearded, crinkly Steve Jobs's visage, and for a moment he could be the playful upstart who shocked the world 20 years ago. "Hmm, look who's running Microsoft now," he says, referring to former Procter & Gamble marketer Steve Ballmer. "A sales guy!" The smile gets broader. "I wonder…" he says. 11. The sentence "their creation is still around two decades later." (para.2) can be paraphrased as which of the following? (A) Their creation is still being widely used 20 years later. (B) They have been fascinated by their own creation for 20 years. (C) Mac models being used today are based on their creation 20 years ago. (D) Their creation has surpassed other models over the past 20 years. 12. In the sentence "that the GUI was groovy" (para.3), the word "groovy" can be interpreted as ________. (A) fashionably modern (B) practical and inexpensive (C) most sophisticated (D) odd and strange looking 13. When Steve Jobs thinks "he knows why" (para.5), he implies that ________. (A) people do not love the product they make today (B) Apple people have special passion for what they make (C) some products are liked by those who make them (D) Apple people either love iMac or PowerBook 14. According to Jobs, the main reason the Mac market share did not go up much was that ________. (A) sales people were only concerned about profits (B) the monopoly of Mac lasted too long (C) any monopoly would end sooner or later (D) market share and company profit were treated equally 15. The purpose of the passage is to tell ________. (A) how the Macintosh was unveiled twenty years ago by the team of whiz kids (B) Apple's popularizing the idea of windows on a screen and a mouse (C) Macintosh's contribution to the development of computers over the past two decades. (D) the ups and downs in the development of Macintosh over the past two decades Questions 16-20 "Two centuries ago, Meriwether Lewis and William Clerk left St. Lois to explore the new lands acquired in the Louisiana Purchase," George W. Bush said, announcing his desire for a program to send men and women to Mars. "They made that journey in the spirit of discovery… America has ventured forth into space for the same reasons." Yet there are vital differences between Lewis and Clark's expedition and a Mars mission. First, Lewis and Clark were headed to a place amenable to life; hundred of thousands of people were already living there. Second, Lewis and Clark were certain to discover places and things of immediate value to the new nation. Third, the Lewis and Clark venture cost next to nothing by today's standards. In 1989 NASA estimated that a people-to-Mars program would cost $400 billion, which inflates to $600 billion today. The Hoover Dam cost $700 million in today's money, meaning the sending people to Mars might cost as much as building about 800 new Hoover dams. A Mars mission may be the single most expensive non-wartime undertaking in U.S. history. The thought of travel to Mars is exhilarating. Surely men and women will someday walk upon that planet, and surely they will make wondrous discoveries about geology and the history of the solar system, perhaps even about the vary origin of life. Many times I have stared up at Mars in the evening sky — in the mountains, away from cities, you can almost see the red tint — and wondered what is there, or was there. But the fact that a destination is tantalizing does not mean the journey makes sense, even considering the human calling to explore. And Mars as a destination for people makes absolutely no sense with current technology. Present systems for getting from Earth's surface to low-Earth orbit are so fantastically expensive that merely launching the 1,000 tons or so of spacecraft and equipment a Mars mission would require could be accomplished only by cutting health-care benefits, education spending or other important programs — or by raising taxes. Absent some remarkable discovery, astronauts, geologists and biologists once on Mars could do little mare than analyze rocks and feel awestruck beholding the sky of another world. Yet rocks can be analyze by automated probes without risk to human life, and at a tiny fraction of the cost of sending people. It is interesting to note that when President Bush unveiled his proposal, he listed these recent major achievements of space exploration: pictures of the rings of Saturn and the outer planets, evidence of water on Mars and the moon of Jupiter, discovery of more than 100 planets outside our solar system and study of the soil of Mars. All these accomplishments came from automated probes or automated space telescopes. Bush's proposal, which calls for "reprogramming" some of NASA's present budget into the Mars effort, might actually lead to a reduction in such unmanned science — the one aspect of space exploration that's working really well. Rather than spend hundreds of billions of dollars to hurl tons toward Mars using current technology, why not take a decade — or two decades, or however much time is required — researching new launch systems and advanced propulsion? If new launch systems could put weight into orbit affordably, and if advanced propulsion could speed up that long, slow transit to Mars, then the dreams of stepping onto the Red Planet might become reality. Mars will still be there when the technology is ready. The drive to explore is part of what makes us human, and exploration of the past has led to unexpected glories. Dreams must be tempered by realism, however. For the moment, going to Mars is hopelessly unrealistic. 16. According to the author, George Bush's comparison of Lewis and Clark's expedition and a Mars mission ________. (A) shows that both are of the same and immediate value (B) encourages the American people to venture into space (C) displays the same spirit of discovery in space exploration (D) lacks sound and solid basis in his reasoning 17. The author tells us that human travel to Mars ________. (A) would be probably realized in the near future (B) should not be treated as the first priority today (C) will not bring any benefits to human community (D) is not feasible in light of today's technology 18. According to the author, once on Mars, astronauts, geologists and biologists ________. (A) could not make any remarkable discovery (B) could only analyze the rocks there in detail (C) could not find the mysteries of life in solar system (D) could well understand the operation of the whole solar system 19. Bush listed major achievements of space exploration to support his proposal. The author introduced this in order to show that ________. (A) unmanned science will be much affected by manned space travel (B) the reprogramming of NASA's budget into Mars effort is affordable (C) accomplishments will be made by automated probes (D) space exploration is and will always be America's first priority 20. Which of the following supports the statement "For the moment, going to Mars is hopelessly unrealistic."? (A) Health care of the population should be the first priority. (B) Technological barriers for humans to go to Mars will be insurmountable. (C) The expenditures to go to Mars will be too enormous. (D) Dreams are only dreams which can never be turned into reality. SECTION 3: TRANSLATION TEST (30 minutes) Directions: Translate of the following passage into Chinese and write your version in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET. France today is no superpower, but French influence in some spheres significant. Nothing has cemented French influence in the world like the decision made by the victorious World War II powers in 1945 to include France as one of the five permanent, veto-wielding members of the Security Council. Until the end of the Cold War, France rarely found itself in disagreement with Britain or the U.S. on major issues. But the U.N. veto today takes on larger significance as France struggles to decide whether it wants to lead the European Union in defiance of American power or in partnership with it. As America's great media outlets have begun preparing for coverage of the D-Day celebrations, the question of a "grand gesture" by the French toward the American war in Iraq has been raised. Administration officials hint that, perhaps, just perhaps, the French President will use the occasion of France's rescue as an opportunity to square the accounts — to issue a blanket endorsement of America's plan for Iraq's future and throw its support behind the transfer of power looming at the end of the month. France certainly wants the United States to be successful in Iraq at this point. But France seems unlikely to see D-Day as an opportunity to make good on a 60-year-old debt. Beyond nice speeches and some truly fine cuisine, don't expect France to liberate America from Iraq. SECTION 4: LISTENING TEST (30 minutes) Part A: Note-taking And Gap-filling Directions: In this part of the test you will hear a short talk. You will hear the talk ONLY ONCE. While listening to the talk, you may take notes on the important points so that you can have enough information to complete a gap-filling task on a separate ANSWER BOOKLET. You will not get your ANSWER BOOKLET until after you have listened to the talk Many different cultures exist in the world today, and so there are differences in socially acceptable business behavior throughout the world. In some cultures it is socially ________ (1) to say "No" even when that is the ultimate answer. For example, ________ (2) businesspersons rarely say "No" to each other or to businesspeople from other cultures. But Americans will say no quickly, because they value ________ (3). Personal ________ (4) points to another difference in culture. In Japan and some ________ (5) American countries business people like to stand ________ (6) together as they talk. They partially judge how close they are to ________ (7) in their business ________ (8) by how physically close they are standing or sitting next to each other. But Americans do not want other people invading their personal ________ (9). Business cards also have different significance in various cultures. Japanese people take exchanging business cards as an important ________ (10). At a business gathering, they may spend ten to fifteen minutes exchanging cards, discussing each other's ________ (11) and experience, answering questions and ________ (12) each other. But American businesspeople tend to accept ________ (13) cards quickly and then put them into a coat ________ (14) with just a glance. Ethical behavior in one culture may be ________ (15) in another. For example, in the United States, ________ (16) are both unethical and ________ (17). People who offer and accept bribes can be charged with ________ (18) activity and can be ________ (19) for these crimes. But in other countries, bribes may be a more acceptable or even ________ (20) part of doing business. Part B: Listening and Translation 1. Sentence Translation Directions: In this part of the test, you will hear 5 English sentences. You will hear the sentences ONLY ONCE. After you have heard each sentence, translate it into Chinese and write your version in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET. (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) 2. Passage Translation Directions: In this part of the test, you will hear 2 English passages. You will hear the passages ONLY ONCE. After you have heard each passage, translate it into Chinese and write your version in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET. You may take notes while you are listening. (1) (2) SECTION 5: READING TEST (30 minutes) Directions: Read the following passages and then answer IN COMPLETE SENTENCES the questions which follow each passage. Use only information from the passage you have just read and write your answer in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET. Questions 1-3 Stolen masterpieces are being used by crime gangs as "get out of jail free cards" to trade for more lenient sentences. The criminals stash paintings and other works of art and use them in plea bargaining for other offences, the head of the Metropolitan Police's arts and antiques unit has revealed. Detective Sergeant Vernon Rapley also disclosed that Scotland Yard had started compiling the country's first national police database of stolen works of art. He said: "Some have clearly been held as a 'get out of jail for free' by criminal gangs. There is clear evidence this has been done." He explained: "If you bury the painting in a dustbin in a wood and you wait until you get arrested for another crime, such as armed robbery, you can tell the police you know about a 'nasty villain' who stole the painting, which could be worth £13m to £14m. If you are instrumental in the recovery of the painting you can get a credit from sentencing for the armed robbery. The concern is that it's becoming more common." Alexandra Smith, director of operations at the Art Loss Register, a London-based company that holds the details of 140,000 stolen works of art from around the world, said that in some cases criminals probably stole famous paintings and then discovered they were impossible to sell because they were so easy to recognize. "What is more plausible is that criminals steal something valuable and find they cannot get rid of it, so when they are caught for another crime they trade the painting to commute the sentence." Det Sgt Rapley, the head of the country's only dedicated stolen art squad, estimated that the trade in illicit art in Britain is worth about £1bn a year. To help crack down on the criminal enterprise, the Metropolitan Police is expanding its database and hopes to produce the first national register of stolen works. It currently has records of 50,000 stolen items and is encouraging other forces to add to the database. Det Sgt Rapley said he hoped that by the end of the year the public would be able to access parts of the database to check for stolen items. He said the criminals who stole the paintings and artworks only made a fraction of the massive profits available for stolen art, getting at most about 10 per cent of the value. In one case a thief stole a silver beaker from a museum without knowing that it was priceless. He later sold it to a market trader for a new pounds. Det Sgt Rapley added: "I totally disagree with the Hollywood image of upper-class thieves who steal for some Mr. Big. They are nothing more than common criminals stealing for financial gain. They may be slightly better burglars, but there is nothing in the talk of sophisticated Raffles-type cat burglars, or great art fakers." The issue of stolen art hit the headlines last year with the theft of a Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece. Madonna with they Yarnwinder, which was taken from Drumlanrig Castle, rear Dumfries, in August, has been valued as worth up to £80m. The Art Loss Register has compiled a list of the artists whose works are most frequently stolen worldwide. Ms Smith said the most commonly stolen works were by artists that criminals could easily identify as famous and therefore valuable, and those produced by the most prolific artists. 1. What are "get out of jail free cards"? What is the use of such cards? 2. Introduce briefly the illicit trade in art in the UK and the countermeasures of the Metropolitan Police to crack down such criminal acts. 3. Det Sgt Rapely said "I tatally disagree with the Hollywood image of upper-class thieves who steal for some Mr. Big." (para.6) Give your interpretation of this statement. Questions 4-6 A hundred years after the Wright brothers' triumph at Kitty Hawk, the European consortium Airbus announced a millstone of its own-surpassing the American aviation giant Boeing in the number of airliners delivered in 2003. Airbus, based in Toulouse, France, in now beating its U.S. rival at its own game of size and distance: The 555-passenger, long-range A380, bigger than any Boeing, is already in production. Airbus's success should be no surprise. American and France may be sparring diplomatically, but technologically the two nations have had a long love affair. Each has developed outstanding innovations, and each has assiduously exploited the other's ideas. Even the current U.S. military-industrial hegemony has some decidedly French roots. Sylvanus Thayer graduated from West Point in 1808, spent two years in Europe, and was utterly taken with French military thought and training. When he became superintendent in 1817, Thayer modeled the academy's demanding technical curriculum and ethic of honor and service after France's Ecole Polytechnique. Classics on sieges and fortifications by Louis XIV's engineering genius, Marshal Sebastien Le Prestre de Vauban, were standard texts; studying French was de rigueur. The French connection persisted into the Civil War. The Minie bullet that made that conflict's rifle-muskets three times as deadly as earlier weapons was originally developed by French officers. In 1885, the French ordnance engineer Paul Vielle introduced smokeless powder. French artillerymen invented the revolutionary hydropneumatic recoil that allows cannons to remain murderously locked on target for shot after shot. And where would the Navy SEALs be without scuba gear, developed in 1943 on the French Riviera by Emile Gagnan and a soon-to-be famous French officer, Jacques Cousteau? Even interchangeable parts, the foundation of America's mass production, have French roots. The historian of science Ken Alder has shown that a French gunsmith was using such a system as early as the 1720s. By the 1780s, French military officials were introducing uniform jigs and fixtures at arms factories to enforce strict tolerances and ensure deadlier firearms and ordnance. Thomas Jefferson praised the system, and while it fell into disuse in France in the 19th century, U.S. armories embraced it. Related methods became known in Europe as the American System and, later, as Fordism. Speaking of Ford, what could be more American than the automobile? Yet a Frenchman built the first self-propelled vehicle, powered by steam, more than 200 years ago. A hundred years later the French company Panhard introduced the basic architecture that automobiles have followed ever since. Henry Ford's triumphs depended not just on standardization but on use of strong, rust-resistant vanadium steel, which had impressed him in the wreck of a French racing car. Long before airbus, the French produced superlative aeronautical engineers. They were the first Europeans to acclaim the Wrights' breakthroughs in aircraft control, and they made key improvements. French inventors, especially Louis Bleriot and Robert Esnault-Pelterie, created the monoplane as we know it, which is why we still speak of fuselages and ailerons. Esnault-Pelterie, was also the father of the joystick. Flag-waving Americans may reply that many of France's own technological triumphs rely on ideas born here. French high-speed trains lead the world today, but as the railroad historian Mark Reutter has shown, the Budd Co. of Philadelphia was already building lightweight, articulated streamliners in the 1930s. And France now gets 75 percent of its electricity from America's great hope of 50 years ago, nuclear power. Social legislation also helps make France a showplace of other U.S. innovations: vending machines (limited retailing hours) and mass-produced antibiotics (generous health benefits). In fact, the French have so often jettisoned their heritage in favor of novel technology that it sometimes takes Americans to defend it. The Cornell University scholar Steven Kaplan has revived the art of French bread making, and Mother Noella Marcellino, an American Benedictine nun with a Ph.D. in microbiology, has been saving the classic cheese of France from pasteurization — a process invented by the Frenchman Louis Pasteur. It's pointless to debate who owes more to whom, and far more interesting to rejoice in cross-appropriation. Airbus has many U.S. suppliers, and Boeing will jump ahead sooner or later in the endless technological leapfrog. The last word may belong to the sage — perhaps Oscar Wide — who said, "Talents imitate; geniuses steal." 4. Why does the author introduce the Wright brothers and the European Airbus at the beginning of the passage? 5. What does the author mean by saying that "technologically the two nations [America and France] have had a long love affair"? Give some examples. 6. Paraphrase the sentence "the French have so often jettisoned their heritage in favor of novel technology that it sometimes takes Americans to defend it." (para.9) Questions 7-10 Millions of elderly Germans received a notice from the Health & Social Security Ministry earlier this month that struck a damaging blow to the welfare state. The statement informed them that their pensions were being cut. The reductions come as a stop-gap measure to control Germany's ballooning persion crisis. Not surprisingly, it was an unwelcome change for senior citizens such as Sabine Wetzel, a 67-year-old retired bank teller, who was told her state pension would be cut by $12.30, or 1% to $1,156.20 a month. "It was a real shock," she says. "My pension had always gone up in the past." There's more bad news on the way. On Mar. 11, Germany's lower house of Parliament passed a bill gradually cutting state pensions — which have been rising steadily since World War II — from 53% of average wages now to 46% by 2020. And Germany is not alone. Governments across Western Europe are racing to curb pension benefits. In Italy, the government plans to raise the minimum retirement age from 57 to 60, while France will require that civil servants put in 40 years rather than 37.5 to qualify for a full pension. The reforms are coming despite tough opposition from unions, leftist politicians, and pensioners' groups. The explanation is simple: Europeans are living longer and having fewer children. By 2030 there will only be two workers per pensioner, compared with four in 2000. With fewer young workers paying into the system, cuts are being made to cover a growing shortfall. The gap between money coming in and payments going out could top $10 billion this year in Germany alone. "In the future, a state pension alone will no longer be enough to maintain the living standards employees had before they retired," says German Health & Social Security Minister Ulla Schmidt. Says Italian Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti: "The welfare state is producing too few cradles and too few graves." Of course, those population trends have been forecast for years. Some countries, such as Britain and the Netherlands, have responded by making individuals and their employers assume more of the responsibility for pensions. But many Continental governments dragged their feet. Now, the rapid runup in costs in finally forcing them to act. State-funded pension payments make up around 12% of gross domestic product in Germany and France and 15% in Italy — two percentage points more than 20 years ago. Pensions account for an average 21% of government spending across the European Union. The U.S. Social Security system, by contrast, consumes just 4.8% of GDP. The rising cost is having serious repercussions on key European nations' commitments to fiscal restraint. "Governments have no choice but to make pension reform a priority," says Antonio Cabral, deputy director of the European Commission's Directorate General for Economic & Financial Affairs. Just as worrisome is the toll being exacted on the private sector. Corporate contributions to state pension systems — which make up 19.5% of total gross pay in Germany — add to Europe's already bloated labor costs. That, in turn, blunts manufacturers' competitiveness and keeps unemployment rates high. According to the Institute of German Economics in Cologne, benefit costs reached a record 41.7% of gross wages in Germany last year, compared with 37.4% a decade before. French cement manufacturer Lafarge says pension cost of $121 million contributed to a 9% fall in operating profits last year. To cope, Germany and most of its EU partners are using tax breaks to encourage employees to put money into private pensions schemes. But even if private pensions become more popular, European governments will have to increase minimum retirement ages and reduce public pensions. While today's seniors complain about reduced benefits, the next generation of retirees may look back on their parents' pension checks with envy. 7. What does the author want to tell us from the example of the retired bank teller Sabine Wetzel? 8. Paraphrase Italian Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti's statement "The welfare state is producing too few cradles and too few graves." (para.3) 9. Introduce briefly the pension reforms in some key European countries. 10. What is implied by the last sentence of the passage "While today's seniors complain about reduced benefits, the next generation of retirees may look back on their parents' pension checks with envy."? SECTION 6: TRANSLATION TEST (30 minutes) Directions: Translate the following passage into English and write your version in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET. 舒舍予，字老舍，现年四十岁，面黄无须，生于北平，三岁失怙，可谓无父，志学之年，帝王不存，可谓无君，无父无君，特别孝爱老母。幼读三百篇，不求甚解。继学师范，遂奠教书匠之基，及壮，糊口四方，教书为业。甚难发财，每购奖券，以得末奖为荣，示甘为寒贱也。二十七岁，发愤著书，科学哲学无所终，故写小说，博大家一笑，没什么了不得。三十四岁结婚，今已有一男一女，均狡猾可喜。书无所不读，全无所获，并不着急，教书做事，均甚认真，往往吃亏，也不后悔。再活四十年，也许能有点出息。 答案 2004.9答案 Section 1: Listening Test Part A: Spot Dictation 1. different geographical regions 2. reveal underlined similarities 3. quite distinctive 4. universal responses 5. the American experience 6. identified with one particular author 7. a variety of anonymous story-tellers 8. borrow or transform 9. formal literature 10. created informally 11. in face-to-face contact with 12. small but attentive 13. the advent of movies and television 14. Not unexpectedly 15. our nation’s folk traditions 16. their individual differences 17. get a better understanding 18. enormous opportunities 19. clearly defined 20. who actively confronted Part B: Listening Comprehension 1. B 2. C 3. A 4. D 5. D 6. B 7. B 8. D 9. D 10. C 11. A 12. C 13. B 14. D 15. C 16. C 17. D 18. A 19. A 20. B Section 2: Reading Test 1. B 2. A 3. D 4. C 5. D 6. A 7. C 8. D 9. C 10. C 11. C 12. A 13. B 14. A 15. D 16. D 17. B 18. A 19. A 20. C Section 3: Translation Test 今日的法国绝不是超级大国，但法国在某些领域的影响却不容小窥。二战中胜利的列强于1945年将法国列入联合国安全理事会五个有否决权的常任理事国之列，这个决定最大程度地铸就了法国在世界的影响力。直至冷战结束，法国在世界重大事务中基本保持与英美的一致。但法国今日面临一个痛苦决定，究竟是引导欧盟挑战美国的权势还是使之对美国亦步亦趋，此时它所掌握的在联合国的否决权更显得非同小可。 美国各大媒体已经开始准备全面报道二战诺曼底登陆日（D-Day）纪念活动，此时法国当初对美国伊拉克战争的“故作姿态”又一次遭到质疑。政府官员们暗示，可能，也许只是可能，法国总统会利用这次庆祝法国解放的机会来和美国就这一恩怨做个了断 —— 声明全面认可美国对伊拉克未来建设的计划，并在临近的月底权力交接之后对这一计划加以支持。但看来法国不太可能视D-Day纪念为一个偿清60年之久的债务的机会。除了堂皇的演讲和美味佳肴，不要指望法国会拿出什么别的来把美国从伊拉克解救出来。 Section 4: Listening Test Part A: Note-taking and Gap-filling 1. unacceptable 2. Japanese 3. decisiveness 4. distance 5. Latin 6. closely 7. agreements 8. negotiation 9. space 10. ritual 11. qualifications 12. complimenting 13. business 14. pocket 15. unethical 16. briberies 17. illegal 18. criminal 19. jailed 20. regular Part B: Listening and Translation I. Sentence Translation 1. Like many other countries, Britain has experienced a great increase in criminal activities, nearly five times as acts of violence were reported to the police in 2003 as 20 years before. 2. Helping the poor should start with their children, because sometimes the poor’s children don’t have good schools to go to, and if they got a better education, then they would be able to help themselves. 3. Today we are going to look at the role of social welfare in 2 European countries, Sweden and Switzerland, both economies can be described as welfare states, or so-called “democratically-controlled socialism”. 4. Since World War II, France has had a system known as the “Guided Market Economy”. This means the state guides and controls economic activity by means of measures such as nationalization of selected industries. 5. Smoking cigarettes is dangerous. It is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Every year, over 400,000 Americans die as the result of smoking, and another 10 million people suffer from smoking-related diseases. II. Passage Translations 1. Australia is one of the world’s 6 leading tourist destinations. And by the year of 2005, tourism is expected to be the 2nd biggest industry in the country. Between 2000 and 2002, the number of overseas visitors to Australia grew by 50%. In 2003, there were 19.1 million overseas visitors. An estimated 64% of visitors came from Europe and North America, and the rest from Asia and other parts of the world. Business travel accounts for about 1/5 of all overseas tourism revenue. Australia’s tourist attractions include theaters, museums, art galleries, and historic houses, as well as shopping, sports and business facilities. 2. What does it mean to be health? The simplest definition of health is the absence of disease. This definition reflects a medical view of health involving mainly the diagnosis and treatment of illness. This view is limited because it focuses only on physical health and how to go about curing specific physical illnesses. The World Health Organization has a broader view. It talks about the state of complete physical, emotional, social, intellectual, environmental, and spiritual health. This holistic view of health takes into account the whole person. Good health can be described as relationship of harmony with yourself, with others, and with your environment, which allows you to get the most out of life. Section 5: Reading Test 1. “Get out of jail free” cards” are stolen artistic masterpieces, mostly paintings. Criminals first stole some famous paintings but then found that it was impossible to sell them. They would hide the paintings somewhere, and when they are arrested fro another crime, they would offer the paintings to the police in exchange for a commuted sentence or even a pardon. 2. By one estimate, trade in illicit art in Britain is worth about 1 billion pounds. In order to curb the illicit trade in art, the Metropolitan Police compiled database of stolen works of art. So far the database has already obtained detailed records of 50,000 items and other forces are encouraged to add to the database. The Metropolitan Police also hopes by the end of the year, the public would be able to get access to parts of database and check for stolen items. 3. Thieves stealing artistic masterpieces are always portrayed by Hollywood as graceful high-browed ladies and gentlemen with the support of some mysterious VIP buyers, while the real-life thieves are only common criminals stealing for money. They may be a little more skilled than others, but they even sometimes do not realize the value of the item they stole, and they have difficulty selling it. 4. I believe the author introduces the Wright brothers and the European Airbus at the beginning of the passage for two purposes: · Wright brothers’ success in the test fly of the first manned aircraft and Airbus’s manufacturing of A 380 are both millstones of aeronautic development. . · The Wrights brothers are Americans, while Airbus is a French company. Their successes are introduced together so that the theme of the passage would come up naturally. 5. In the long history of technical development, France and America learn and inspire from each other’s achievements. On the whole, America gains a little bit more from the reciprocity. The lethal Minie bullets in American Civil War was originally developed by French officers. Ford developed his world-famous Fordism, characterized by assembly line and interchangeable parts, on the technical breakthroughs achieved by French gunsmiths. America’s ideas of nuclear power was developed into practical use by French people. Now France gets 75 percent of its electricity from it. 6. French people are very good at technical innovations and breakthroughs. While they are much overwhelmed by the sense of achievement accompanying them, they often do not pay enough attention to their further exploitation and commercialization. American people learn a lot from French people achievements, they are better at commercializing them and further developing them into practical use or mass production. 7. The example of the retired bank teller Sabine Wetzel shows that the retired people in Germany do not like the government’s decision to cut their pensions, which is understandable since their pensions in the past always went up. 8. A welfare state is supposed to take care of its citizens from their birth to their death from cradle to grave, but now since people are living longer and unwilling to have children, the number of old people taking money from the welfare system increases a lot, while the number of young people contributing to it declines. The gap between the two threatens the whole social welfare system. 9. In Germany, the state pensions will be cut from 53% of average wages now to 46% by 2020. In Italy, the minimum retirement age will be raised from 57 to 60. In France, a civil servant will have to work for 40 years instead of 37.5 in order to get a full pension. 10. European governments’ efforts to raise minimum retirement ages and reduce public pensions will continue. Future generations of retirees will benefit far less than old people do today, even though old people complain a lot about the benefit cut. Section 6: Translation Test I, Shu Sheyu, style myself Lao She/write under the pseudonym of Lao She. I am now 40 years old, having a yellow complexion and wearing no beard. I was born in Beiping. At the age of 3, I lost my father/ when I was 3 years olds, my father died, so I could be said to have no father. When I was 15/ at school/ of school age, the emperor ceased to exist /was dethroned, so I could be said to have no emperor. Without father and emperor, I was especially filial and respectful to my mother. In my childhood, I read the Book of Songs, making no effort to understand the meaning thoroughly /without a deep understanding of the content. Years later, I attended a normal school, where I prepared myself to be a teacher/ where I laid a foundation for my career as a teacher. In the prime of my life, I roved hither and thither/ went from one place to another, earns a living by teaching. That profession offered me little chance of making a fortune/ getting rich, so I took to buying lottery tickets, I prided myself on/ I took pride in winning the smallest prize, resigned to leading a poor and humble life. At 27, I made a determined effort to write books. Having achieved no success/ got nowhere with sciences and philosophy, I turned to creation of fiction merely to amuse my readers. That did not amount to much./ that was not bit achievement. I got married at the age of 34. Now I have a son and a daughter. They are both mischievous /naughty and lovable. I read extensively/ whatever I could get hold of, but got nothing out of whatever I read (it), and I am not worried. I teach and do everything else in real earnest/ conscientiously and I often come to grief, but I do not regret. If I can live another 40 years, I may achieve some success/ get somewhere (in my life). PAGE 19