2013年全国大学生英语竞赛D类初赛卷A

2013年全国大学生英语竞赛D类初赛卷A Part ? Reading Comprehension Read the following passage. Each passage is following by several questions. Respond to the questions according to the passage. Remember to write the answers on the answer sheet. Section A(10 marks) Questions 56-60 are based on the following passage. Are Computers Alive? The topic of thought is one area of psychology, and many observers have considered this aspect in connection with robots and computer: some of the old worries about AI-artificial intelligence---were closely linked to the question of whether computers could think. The first massive electronic computers, capable of rapid (if often unreliable) computation and little or no creative activity, were soon called“electronic brains”.A reaction to this terminology quickly followed. To put them in their place, computers were called “high-speed idiots”, an effort to protect human vanity. In such a climate, the possibility of computers actually being alive was rarely considered: it was bad enough that computers might be capable of thought. But not everyone realized the implications of the high-speed idiot tag. It has not been pointed out often enough that even the human idiot is one of the most intelligent life forms on Earth. If the early computers were even that intelligent, it was already a remarkable state of affairs. One consequence of speculation about the possibility of computer thought was that we were forced to examine with new care the idea of thought in general. It soon because clear that we were not sure what new meant by such terms as thought and thinking .We tend to assume that human beings think, some more than others, thought we often call people thoughtless or unthinking. Dreams cause a problem, partly because they usually happen outside our control. They are obviously some type of mental experience, but are they a type of thinking? And the question of nonhuman life forms adds further 1 problems. Many of us would maintain that some of the higher animals ---dogs, cats, apes, and so on---are capable of at least basic thought, but what about fish and insects? It is certainly true that the higher mammals show complex brain activity when tasted with the appropriate equipment. If thinking is demonstrated by evident electrical activity in the brain, then many animal species are capable of thought. Once we have formulated clear ideas on what thought is in biological creatures, it will be easier to discuss the question of thought in artifacts(人工制品). And what is true of thought is also true of many other mental processes. One of the immense benefits of AI research is that we are being forced to check carefully the working of the human mind. It is already clear that machines have superior mental abilities to many life forms. No fern or oak tree can play chess as well as even the simplest digital computer; nor can frogs weld(焊接) car bodies as well as robots. The mechanical manipulator is clever in some ways that the three-toed sloth (焊焊). It seems that, viewed in terms of intellect, the computer should be set well above plants and most animals. Only the higher animals can, it seems, compete with computers with regard to intellect---and even then with diminishing success. (Examples of this are in the games of chess. Some of the World’s best players now computers.) Questions 5658: —Read the questions and the four choices marked A, B, C, and D, and decide which is best choice according to the passage. 56. The first electronic computers were________. A. slow and reliable B. large and fast C. creative and accurate D. unreliable and small 57. In the author’s view, mental activities are characteristic of ________. 2 A. all plants and animals B. some animals C. human being alone D. computers 58. What does the author say about machines thinking? A. It is somewhat possible B. It is totally impossible C. It will not be realized too soon D. It may surpass human thinking someday Question 59-60: Complete the following statements with information given in the passage in a maximum of three words for each blank. 59. The author feels that by calling these early computers “high-speed idiots”, people were really implying that computers would never be capable of______. 60. The author believe that such words as thought and thinking might come to better understood because of research into ______ and computers. Section B;10 marks, Questions 61-65 are based on the following passage. The life of Jackie Chan One of the most popular film personalities in the world, Jackie Chan came from a poverty stricken Hong Kong family-so poor, claims Chan, that he was almost sold in infancy to a wealthy British couple. As it turned out, Chan became his family’s sole support. Enrolled in the Chinese Opera Research Institute at the age of seven, he spent the next decade in rigorous training for a career in the Peaking Opera, excelling in martial arts and acrobatics. Billed as Cheng Long, Chan entered films in his mid-teens, appearing in 25 productions before his 20th birthday. Starting out as a stunt man, Chan was promoted to stardom as the potentialsuccessor to the late Bruce Lee. In his earliest starring films, he was cast as a stone-cold serious type, determined to avenge Lee’s death. Only a stunt man, Chan was promoted to stardom as the potential when he began playing for laughs did Chan truly attain full celebrity status. Frequently referred to as the Buster Keaton of kung-fu, Chan’s 3 outlook on life is a lot more optimistic than Keaton’s, but in his tireless devotion to the most elaborate of sight gags and the most awe-inspiring of stuns (many of which have nearly cost him his life), Chan is Keaton incarnate. From 1987’s The Young Master inward, Chan has usually been his own director and screenwriter. His best Hong Kong produced films include– the nonstop action-fests (1983), (1986), and the Golden Horse Award-winning ory (1993)----not to mention the Project A Police StoryCrime St mention the multiple sequels of each of the aforementioned titles. Despite his popularity in Europe and Asia, Chan was for many years unable to make a dent in the American market. He tired hard in such films as The Big Brawl (1980) and the first two Cannonball Run flicks, but American filmgoers just weren’t buying. At long last, Chan mined U.S. box-office gold with 1996’s Rumble in the Bronx, a film so exhilarating that the audience never noticed those distinctly Canadian mountain ranges looming behind the “Bronx” skyline. Chan remained the most popular Asian actor with the greatest potential when he co-starred with Chris Tucker in the 1998 box-office hit Rush Hour. Chan had another success on his hands with Shanghai Noon, a comedy Western in which he starred as an Imperial Guard dispatched to the American West to rescue the kidnapped daughter(Lucy Liu) of the Chinese Emperor. Questions 61-63: Read the questions, and then tell whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F) 61. Jackie Chan stated as a comedy actor and then moved into serious roles. 62. Chan was very popular in the United States right away with his first movie. 63. The last three movies mentioned, Rumble in the Bronx, Rush Hour, and Shanghai Noon-were very successful. Questions 64-65: Answer the following question according to the passage. 64. What did Jackie Chan learn for a career in the Peking Opera? 4 65. When did Jackie Chan get full celebrity status? Section C;10 marks, Questions 66-70are based on the following passage. What Makes Sound Beautiful? (69)Beauty is certainly more than shin-deep. However you might define it, beauty extends far beyond the visual to that which pleases other the mind. The most important a beyond these other routes for the observation of beauty is the sense of hearing. Music is routinely recognized as beautiful. So are other sounds, like the whispering of wind through pines or the gentle purring of a cat. Just as philosophers and scientists have struggled to define visual beauty, they have attempted to analyze the appeal of pleasant sounds as well. Ultimately, sonic(音的声) beauty is in the ear of the beholder. Research and intuition can, however, suggest why one person considers a musical piece gorgeous while another considers it a bucketful of noise. The existence of noise is a clue in itself. A conventional definition of noise would include adjective like unwanted, annoying, disorganized, or meaningless. Sounds that have no discernible(可是焊的) pattern to them or that intrude on mental order are not generally considered beautiful. The relationship of sound to the situation is crucial. An assertive orchestral piece like Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man” could be strikingly beautiful at a Fourth of July celebration yet decidedly annoying when it blares from someone else’s apartment while you are trying to concentrate on a difficult task. But it is the quest to discover the role of pattern that takes us beyond such obvious intuitive judgments about the beauty of sound. In the 1930s, a mathematician named George Birkhoff proposed formulas that would place a given work of art on a numerical aesthetic(焊美的) scale. More beautiful art would score higher than less beautiful art. He Proposed different specifics for analyzing painting, or geometric figures, or poetry, or music, but his central formula is M=O/C. The symbol M stands for beauty, O for origination, and C for complexity. (70)In other words, a work of 5 music that is very well organized and not very complicated scores higher than a work with similarly good organization but a high degree of complexity. Organization is good, complexity is bad. This aspect of Birkhoff’s approach clearly oversimplifies the case. Organization and complexity do contribute to the perceived beauty of a musical piece, but not as mere opposites. They entwine and influence the piece in combination with each other and with other factors. To illustrate this, let’s consider one of those other factors, the musical experience and knowledge that a listener brings to a piece of music. Music critics are well-known for disliking works that become immensely popular and for praising material that the general public finds boring or even unpleasant. Why should this disparity be so common? Or why should a 40-year-old who loved bouncy pop music during his teen years now find it hard to tolerate his own teenage children’s taste in music? The answers probably involve a certain level of complexity, a point where the complexity of a piece and the way it is organized are matched perfectly with a listener’s knowledge and experience. The work presents enough of a challenge so that the listener can enjoy thinking about and deciphering(解焊) its patterns, but it is not so impossibly complex that the listener remains confused. A work that falls far below this ideal level is too simple or too familiar to be interesting. A work that that reaches far above the ideal level is frustrating and dissatisfying. Questions 66-68: Answer the following questions according to the passage. 66. What adjectives are used to define noise conventionally? 67. According to the passage, what is the relationship between organization and complexity when contributing to the perceived beauty of a musical piece? 68. What level of complexity is ideal to a musical piece? Questions 69-70: Translate the underlined sentences 69 and 70 6 Section D (10 marks) Question 71-75 are based on the following passage. Apology Makes Right Whether used to repair old, strained relationships or to lay the groundwork for new, productive ones, the mighty “sorry” has proved effective. Apologies are powerful. They resolve conflicts without violence, repair disunity between nations, allow governments to acknowledge the suffering of their citizens, and restore balance to personal relationships. They are an effective way to restore trust and gain respect. They can be a sign of strength: proof that the apologizer has the self-confidence to admit a mistake. Apologies, like so many other communication strategies, begin at home. They are one of what some linguists call speech acts and are used to keep relationships on track. Each cultural group has its own customs with regard to conversational formalities, including conventionalized means of repairing disruptions. In the American context, there is enough evidence that women are more inclined to offer an expression of apology than men. One woman, for example, told me that her husband’s resistance to apologizing makes their disputes go on and on. Once, after he forget to give her a particularly important telephone message, she couldn’t get over her anger, not because he had forgotten (she realize anyone can make a mistake) but because he didn’t apologize. “Had I done something like that,” she said, “I would have fallen over myself saying how sorry I was … I felt as though he didn’t care.” When I asked her husband for his side of the story, he said apologizing would not have repaired the damage. “So what good does it do?” he wondered. The good it does is cementing the relationships. By saying he was sorryand saying it as if he meant it---he would have conveyed—— that he felt bad about letting her down. Not saying anything sent the opposite message: it implied he didn’t care. Showing that you empathize provides the 7 element of regret that is central to apologies ---as does the promise to make amends and not repeat the offense. In the absence of these, why should the wife trust her husband not to do it again? Apologies can be equally powerful in day-to-day situations at home and at work. One company manager told me that they were magic bullets. When he admitted to subordinates that he had made a mistake and then expressed remorse, they not only forgave him, but became even more loyal. Conversely, when I asked people what most frustrated them in their work lives, coworkers refusing to admit fault was a frequent answer. Question 71-75: Read the passage carefully and then complete each space in the summary in a maximum of three words from the passage. Summary: Apologies are powerful, because they are effective way to (71)_______ and gain respect. Like many other communication strategies, they begin at home. They are one of the (72)_______ and are used to keep relationships on track. The essential advantage of apology is repairing the (73) ________. Showing that you are regretful means to compensate and not (74)_________.Moreover, apologies can be equally powerful in (75)________ both at home and at work. Part ? Translation(10 marks) Translation the following sentences into English, using the words given in brackets. Remember to write the answers on the answer sheet. 76. 焊是焊得受人焊焊而心神不。;她宁be obsessed with, 77. 我姐姐已焊焊焊照焊生病的我。;get accustomed to, 78. 他焊抵焊上后～焊伯特想出了一主意,第二天早上可能日出。;当达个comp up with, 79. 他不管走到里都身携焊一焊本～以便焊焊焊下自己的想法。;哪随个笔随wherever, 8 80. 在他有生之年～他一直有成名～但他焊焊自己是一合格的焊。;没个教think of…as…, Part ? Error Correction (10 marks) Proofread the passage as required. Each indicated line contains a maximum of one error. Correct the passage in the following way: for a correct line, put the sign “?” in the corresponding blank; for a wrong words, underline the wrong word and write the correct one in the blank; for a missing words, mark the position of the missing words with the sign “?” and write the word you believe to be missing in the blank; for an unnecessary word, cross the unnecessary word with the sign “\” and put the word with the sign “\” in the blank. Remember to write the answer on the answer sheet. For example: One of my favorite writers are Charlotte Bronte. She is born in the early ____was___ nineteenth century when women had far fewer opportunities ? they have now. ____than__She lived in a small village in Yorkshire and she took great pleasure in working ____ ?____ on the moors where near her home.____where_ Diet and the Demand for Food The demand for different food product depends 81. _________on four factors: the number of people in the area 82. _________their standard of living, and their cultural attitudes. 83. _________The first two are obviously. The third, 84. _________cultural attitudes, often depends in the diet habits and religion. 85. _________ 9 Take attitudes toward diet in the United States, for an example. 86. _________Changes, preferences, and prices have had an interesting effect 87. _________on consumption in the U.S. In 1940, Americans consume 88. _________19.4 pounds of butter and margarine per person, and most of it 89. _________was butter. Now they eat less 13 pounds, most of it margarine. 90. _________Before World War ?, people in the U.S. averaged 155 pounds 91. _________of wheat flour a year; now they averaged about 135. 84. __________Americans are also eating much few fruit, 84. _________but they’re eating many more vegetables. 84. _________They are eating more chicken and turkey, either. 84. _________ Part ? IQ Teat ( 10 marks) There are five IQ questions in this part. Remember to write the answer on the answer sheet. 91. The word PASTRY is 4XY6AT in code. What is the word in code Y6XA6? _________ 92. Sharon’s birthday is on 16th January. Mia’s birthday is a week before Sharon’s. Sara’s birthday is a fortnight after Mia’s. Sara’s birthday is on __________. 93. Which one comes next? ________ 10 94. “Eating sweets can damage your teeth. Eating sweets can make you ill.” According to the two statements, which of the following statements must be tore? ________ A. People who are ill have bad teeth. B. People with bad teeth have eaten too many sweets. C. Eating sweets can damage your teeth or make you ill. D. People who are ill have been eating too many sweets. 95.The maple is more northerly than the sycamore(焊焊木)but more southerly than the beech. The ash and the oak are west of the sycamore. The oak is northwest of the maple. Part ? Writing(30 marks) I (10 marks) Suppose you have heard that the position of the salesman in a transnational company is vacant, you want it for a long time. Please write a letter to the manager of apply to for the position. Some more information: ?Tell him the reason why you are so eager to apply for position; ?The requirements for this position are high, but you are good enough for it. 11 Write the letter in at least 80 words on the answer sheet, not including the given words below. Dear Manager, I have learned that the position of the salesman in your company is vacant, which really makes me feel excited. I am looking forward to your reply. Sincerely yours, Li Ming II (20 marks) Along with the widespread of the Internet, there have appeared many online romances. The loves meet and date on the Internet and finally fall in love is very romantic and exciting. However, others hold the view that online love is dangerous because it is rather difficult to tell the real from the fake through the Internet. What’s your opinion on the phenomenon? Write an essay in at least 120 words on the answer sheet. 12