1988 年全国硕士研究生入学统一考试英语试题

Section I: Structure and Vocabulary

In each question, decide which of the four choices given will most suitably complete

the sentence if inserted at the place marked. Put your choices in the ANSWER

SHEET. (15 points)

EXAMPLE:

I was caught ________ the rain yesterday.

[A] in

[B] by

[C] with

[D] at

ANSWER: [A]

1. I didn’t buy the apples; she gave them to me ________ nothing.

[A] with

[B] as

[C] for

[D] by

2. It’s ________ my power to make final decision on the matter.

[A] off

[B] outside

[C] above

[D] beyond

3. I should say Henry is not ________ much a writer as a reporter.

[A] that

[B] so

[C] this

[D] as

4. I won’t pay 20 for the coat; it’s not worth ________.

[A] all that much

[B] that much all

[C] that all much

[D] much all that

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5. He didn’t go into detail on the subject; he spoke ________.

[A] in common

[B] in general

[C] in particular

[D] in short

6. It’s true that the old road is less direct and a bit longer. We won’t take the new

one, ________, because we don’t feel as safe on it.

[A] somehow

[B] though

[C] therefore

[D] otherwise

7. When you are about through the story ________, try to make a guess how the

plot will develop.

[A] half

[B] midway

[C] halfway

[D] one-half

8. Though already a teenager, Peter still finds it hard to ________ his favorite

toys.

[A] part off

[B] part with

[C] part away

[D] part from

9. Strenuous efforts have been made to ________ government expenses to a

desirable level.

[A] cut down

[B] cut short

[C] cut out

[D] cut off

10. When at a party, be sure not to ________ from the person who tries to engage

you in conversation.

[A] turn down

[B] turn away

[C] turn off

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[D] turn back

11. The survival ________ of some wild animals is not very high as they are

ruthlessly hunted for their skins.

[A] rate

[B] degree

[C] ratio

[D] scale

12. He was ________ admittance to the theatre for not being properly dressed.

[A] denied

[B] rejected

[C] repelled

[D] deprived

13. When I ask you a question, I expect a ________ answer.

[A] punctual

[B] fast

[C] rapid

[D] prompt

14. If a man is legally separated from his wife, is he still ________ for her debts?

[A] answerable

[B] chargeable

[C] recoverable

[D] payable

15. At the meeting, Roland argued ________ in favor of the proposal.

[A] severely

[B] heavily

[C] forcefully

[D] warmly

Section II: Reading Comprehension

Each of the three passages below is followed by some questions. For each question

there are four answers. Read the passages carefully and chose the best answer to

each of the questions. Put your choice in the ANSWER SHEET. (20 points)

Text 1

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It doesn’t come as a surprise to you to realize that it makes no difference what

you read or study if you can’t remember it. You just waste your valuable time.

Maybe you have already discovered some clever ways to keep yourself from

forgetting.

One dependable aid that does help you remember what you study is to have a

specific purpose or reason for reading. You remember better what you read when you

know why you’re reading.

Why does a clerk in a store go away and leave you when your reply to her offer

to help is, “No, thank you. I’m just looking”? Both you and she know that if you

aren’t sure what you want, you are not likely to find it. But suppose you say instead,

“Yes, thank you. I want a pair of sun glasses.” She says, “Right this way, please.”

And you and she are off -- both eager to look for exactly what you want.

It’s quite the same with your studying. If you chose a book at random, “just

looking” for nothing in particular, you are likely to get just that -- nothing. But if you

do know what you want, and if you have the right book, you are almost sure to get it.

Your reasons will vary; they will include reading or studying “to find out more

about”, “to understand the reasons for”, “to find out how”. A good student has a clear

purpose or reason for what he is doing.

This is the way it works. Before you start to study, you say to yourself

something like this, “I want to know why Stephen Vincent Benet happened to write

about America. I’m reading this article to find out.” Or, “I’m going to skim this story

to see what life was like in medieval England.” Because you know why you are

reading or studying, you relate the information to your purpose and remember it

better.

Reading is not one single activity. At least two important processes go on at the

same time. As you read, you take in ideas rapidly and accurately. But at the same

time you express your own ideas to yourself as you react to what you read. You have

a kind of mental conversation with the author. If you expressed your ideas orally,

they might sound like this: “Yes, I agree. That’s my opinion too.” or “Ummmm, I

thought that record was broken much earlier. I’d better check those dates,” or “But

there are some other facts to be considered!” You don’t just sit there taking in ideas

-- you do something else, and that something else is very important.

This additional process of thinking about what you read includes evaluating it,

relating it to what you already know, and using it for your own purposes. In other

words, a good reader is a critical reader. One part of critical reading, as you have

discovered, is distinguishing between facts and opinions. Facts can be checked by

evidence. Opinions are one’s own personal reactions.

Another part of critical reading is judging sources. Still another part is drawing

accurate inferences.

16. If you cannot remember what you read or study, ________.

[A] it is no surprise

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[B] it means you have not really learned anything

[C] it means you have not chosen the right book

[D] you realize it is of no importance

17. Before you start reading, it is important ________.

[A] to make sure why you are reading

[B] to relate the information to your purpose

[C] to remember what you read

[D] to choose an interesting book

18. Reading activity involves ________.

[A] only two simultaneous processes

[B] primarily learning about ideas and evaluating them critically

[C] merely distinguishing between facts and opinions

[D] mainly drawing accurate inferences

19. A good reader is one who ________.

[A] relates what he reads to his own knowledge about the subject matter

[B] does lots of thinking in his reading

[C] takes a critical attitude in his reading

[D] is able to check the facts presented against what he has already known

Text 2

If you live in a large city, you are quite familiar with some of the problems of

noise, but because of some of its harmful effects, you may not be aware of the extent

of its influence on human behavior. Although everyone more or less knows what

noise is, i.e., it is sounds that one would rather not hear, it is perhaps best to define it

more precisely for scientific purposes. One such definition is that noise is sounds

that are unrelated to the task at hand. Thus stimuli that at one time might be

considered relevant will at another time be considered noise, depending on what one

is doing at the moment. In recent years there has been a great deal of interest in the

effects of noise on human behavior, and concepts such as “noise pollution” have

arisen, together with movements to reduce noise.

Exposure to loud noises can definitely produce a partial or complete loss of

hearing, depending on the intensity, duration, and frequency composition of the

noise. Many jobs present noise hazards, such as working in factories and around jet

aircraft, driving farm tractors, and working (or sitting) in music halls where rock

bands are playing. In general, continuous exposure to sounds of over 80 decibels (a

measure of the loudness of sound) can be considered dangerous. Decibel values

correspond to various sounds. Sounds above about 85 decibels may, if exposure is

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for a sufficient period of time, produce significant hearing loss. Actual loss will

depend upon the particular frequencies to which one is exposed, and whether the

sound is continuous or intermittent.

Noise can have unexpected harmful effects on performance of certain kinds of

tasks, for instance, if one is performing a watch keeping task that requires vigilance,

in which he is responsible for detecting weak signals of some kind (e.g., watching a

radar screen for the appearance of aircraft).

Communicating with other people is unfavorably affected by noise. If you have

ridden in the rear of a jet transport, you may have noticed that it was difficult to

carry on a conversation at first, and that, eventually, you adjusted the loudness of

your speech to compensate for the effect. The problem is noise.

20. Noise differs from sound in that ________.

[A] it is sounds that interfere with the task being done

[B] it is a special type of loud sound

[C] it is usually unavoidable in big cities

[D] it can be defined more precisely than the latter

21. One of the harmful effects of noise on human performance is that ________.

[A] it reduces one’s sensitivity

[B] it renders the victim helpless

[C] it deprives one of the enjoyment of music

[D] it drowns out conversations at worksites

22. The purpose of this passage is ________.

[A] to define the effects of noise on human behavior

[B] to warn people of the danger of noise pollution

[C] to give advice as to how to prevent hearing loss

[D] to tell the difference between noise and sound

Text 3

The traditional belief that a woman’s place is in the home and that a woman

ought not to go out to work can hardly be reasonably maintained in present

conditions. It is said that it is a woman’s task to care for the children, but families

today tend to be small and with a year or two between children. Thus a woman’s

whole period of childbearing may occur within five years. Furthermore, with

compulsory education from the age of five or six her role as chief educator of her

children soon ceases. Thus, even if we agree that a woman should stay at home to

look after her children before they are of school age, for many women, this period

would extend only for about ten years.

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It might be argued that the house-proud woman would still find plenty to do

about the home. That may be so, but it is certainly no longer necessary for a woman

to spend her whole life cooking, cleaning, mending and sewing. Washing machines

take the drudgery out of laundry, the latest models being entirely automatic and able

to wash and dry a large quantity of clothes in a few minutes. Refrigerators have

made it possible to store food for long periods and many pre-cooked foods are

obtainable in tins. Shopping, instead of being a daily task, can be completed in one

day a week. The new man-made fibers are more hardwiring than natural fibers and

greatly reduce mending, while good ready-made clothes are cheap and plentiful.

Apart from women’s own happiness, the needs of the community must be

considered. Modern society cannot do well without the contribution that women can

make in professions and other kinds of work. There is a serious shortage of nurses

and teachers, to mention only two of the occupations followed by women. It is

extremely wasteful to give years of training at public expense only to have the

qualified teacher or nurse marry after a year or two and be lost forever to her

profession. The training, it is true, will help her in duties as a mother, but if she

continued to work, her service would be more widely useful. Many factories and

shops, too, are largely staffed by women, many of them married. While here the

question of training is not so important, industry and trade would be seriously short

of staff if married women did not work.

23. The author holds that ________.

[A] the right place for all women, married or otherwise, is the home, not

elsewhere

[B] all married women should have some occupation outside the home

[C] a married woman should give first priority to her duties as a mother

[D] it is desirable for uneducated married women to stay at home and take care

of the family

24. A house-proud woman ________.

[A] would devote her whole life to her family

[B] would take her own happiness and that of her family as her chief concern

[C] would still need some special training at public expense to help her in her

duties as a housewife

[D] would take full advantage of modern household appliances

25. According to the author, modern society ________.

[A] can operate just as well even without women participation

[B] has been greatly hampered in its development by the shortage of women

nurses and women teachers

[C] cannot operate properly without the contribution of women