08重庆大学博士英语考试试题2008年重庆大学博士入学考试英语试卷(Time Limit: 180 minutes)Part I: Reading Comprehension 40 %Directions: Read the following passages carefully and then selectthe best answer from the four choices given to answer the questions or to complete the statements that follow each passage. Write your answer on your Answer Sheet.Passage OneProblems and discouragements will face the leader, but he can overcome them with staying power. It seems as if many of the world’s famous people faced some of the greatest difficulties and discouragements in carrying out their visions.Christopher Columbus, for instance, concluded from the informationhe acquired from his travels and from studying charts and maps, that the earth was round and that he could reach Asia by sailing west. But he needed a patron to finance such an expedition. He first tried John II., King of Portugal, without success, and then, the Count of Medina Celi in Spain. The Count encouraged Columbus for two years, but never actually provided him with the money and supplies he needed. Ferdinand and Isabella, King and Queen of Castile in Spain, were then contacted. A review of Columbus’ plans by a committee appointed by the queenresulted in the conclusion that his ideas were vain and impractical. But they kept talking.After a better part of a decade of trying to find a patron, Columbus was in despair, but he didn’t stop. He had staying power. He believed in his mission, but he held out for high terms from Ferdinand and Isabella. He asked that the rank of admiral be bestowed on him right away and that he be made viceroy of all that he should discover. In addition, he would receive one-tenth of all the precious metals discovered within his admiralty. His conditions were rejected and negotiations were again interrupted. Columbus left for France. However, the queen had a change of mind and sent for him. In April, 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella agreed to subsidize the expedition on Columbus’ terms. It wasn’t until 12, October that they landed on North America.Columbus did not visit the Grand Khan of Cathay as he had hoped. But he did discover two new continents. He was successful because he had staying power.1. What was the attitude of the king and queen of Castile toward Columbus’ plan of expedition?A. ConcernedB. IndifferentC. OptimisticD. Disapproval2. Who finally patronized Columbus?A. Count of Median CeliB. John II, King of PortugalC. King and queen of SpainD. King and queen of Castile3. Which of the following statements was not mentioned in the passage?A. Columbus wanted to share what he should discover.B. Columbus firmly demanded that he be the commander of the voyage fleet.C. The king and queen of Castile didn’t accept Columbus terms at the very beginning.D. Columbus got financial help from the queen because he gave up his high terms.14. The author takes the story of Columbus as an example to show that __________.A. Leaders need staying power.B. Columbus had enough staying power.C. One can’t do without saying power.D. Staying power cannot ensure success.5. What does the word “vision” in the first paragraph most probably mean?A. sightB. televisionC. future planD. imaginationPassage TwoThe growth strategy is a corporate-level strategy that seeks toincr ease the level of the organization’s operations. This includes increasing such popular quantitative measures as sales revenues, number of employees, and market share. Growth can be achieved through direct expansion, vertical integration, horizontal integration, or diversification.Growth through direct expansion is achieved by internally increasing a firm’s sales,production capacity, or workforce. No other firms are acquired or merged with; instead, the company chooses to grow by itself through its own b usiness operations. For instance, McDonald’shas pursued a growth strategy by way of direct expansion. The company has grown by awarding franchises(经营许可) to people who are willing to be trained in the McDonald’s way and byopening company-owned outlets.A company might also choose to grow by vertical integration, whichis an attempt to gain control of input (backward vertical integration), output (forward vertical integration), or both. In backward vertical integration, the organization attempts to gain control of its inputs by becoming its own supplier. For instance, United Airlines has created its own in-flight food service business. In forward vertical integration, the organization gains control of its outputs (products or services) bybecoming its own distributor. For example, Gateway Computer’s retail stores are an example ofan organization controlling its distribution.In horizontal integration, a company grows by combining with other organizations in the same industry ― that is, combining operati ons with competitors. For instance, H,J, Heinz, Inc., the food-processing company, combined operations with an organic baby food company, Earth’s Best, to help its own Heinz baby foods division become more competitive. Because combining with competitors might decrease the amount of competition in an industry, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission assesses the impact of such proposed growth action and must approve any proposed horizontal integration strategy. Other countries have similar restrictions.Finally, an organization can grow through diversification, either related or unrelated. Related diversification is when a company grows by merging with or acquiring firms in different but related industries. For example, American Standard Cos. is in a variety of businesses including bathroom fixtures, air-conditioning and heating units, plumbing parts, and brakes for trucks. Unrelated diversification is when a company grows by merging with or acquiring firms in different and unrelated industries. For example, Lancaster Colony Corporation makes salad dressing, car mats and candles. These industries are different and unrelated. 6. What isthis passage mainly about?A. How McDonald’s has become successful.2B. How companies have become successful.C. How companies can develop their businesses.D. How companies compete with each other.7. What is “direct expansion”?A. A company develops its own business into a bigger scale.B. A company acquires another company.C. A company merges with another company.D. A company grows without increasing its workforce.8. Which of the following is not true of “vertical integration”?A. A company attempts to supply its own inputs.B. A company attempts to sell its own products.C. A company attempts to provide service.D. A company attempts to enter another industry.9. If a company adopts the method of “horizontal integration”, it attempts to __________ .A. acquire a very different companyB. acquire a similar companyC. acquire a sales companyD. acquire a distribution company10. Which of the following phrases is closest in meaning to the word “diversification”?A. merging with or acquiring firmsB. either related or unrelatedC. a variety of businessesD. a company growsPassage ThreeIn a time of low academic achievement by children in the United States, many Americans are turning to Japan, a country of high academic achievement and economic success, for possible answers. However, the answers provided by Japanese preschools are not the ones Americans expected to find. In most Japanese preschools，surprisingly little emphasis is put on academicinstruction. In one investigation, 300 Japanese and 210 American preschool teachers, child development specialists, and parents were asked about various aspects of early childhood education. Only 2 percent of the Japanese respondents (答问卷者) listed "to give children a good start academically" as one of their top three reasons for a society to have preschools. In contrast, over half the American respondents chose this as one of their top three choices. To prepare children for successful careers in first grade and beyond, Japanese schools do not teach reading, writing, and mathematics, but rather skills such as persistence, concentration, and the ability to function as a member of a group. The vast majority of young Japanese children are taught to read at home by their parents.In the recent comparison of Japanese and American preschool education, 91 percent of Japanese respondents chose providing children with a group experience as one of their top three reasons for a societyto have preschools. Sixty-two percent of the more individually oriented (强调个性发展的) Americans listed group experience as one of their top three choices. An emphasis on the importance of the group seen in Japanese early childhood education continues into elementary school education.3Like in American, there is diversity in Japanese early childhood education. Some Japanese kindergartens have specific aims, such as early musical training or potential development. In large cities, some kindergartens are attached to universities that have elementary and secondary school.Some Japanese parents believe that if their young children attend a university-based program, it will increase the children's chances of eventually being admitted to top-rated schools and universities. Several more progressive programs have introduced free play as a way out for the heavy intellectualizing in some Japanese kindergartens.11. We learn from the first paragraph that many American believe__________ .A. Japanese parents are more involved in preschool education than American parents.B. Japan’s economic success is a result of its scientific achievements.C. Japanese preschool education emphasizes academic instruction.D. Japan’s higher education is superior to theirs.12. Most Americans surveyed believe that preschools should also attach importance to _____ .A. problem solvingB. group experienceC. parental guidanceD. individually-oriented development13. In Japan’s preschool education, the focus is on __________ .A. preparing children academicallyB. developing children’s artistic interestsC. tapping children’s potentialD. shaping children’s character14. Free play has been introduced in some Japanese kindergartens in order to __________ .A. broaden children’s horizonB. cultivate children's creativityC. lighten children's study loadD. enrich children's knowledge15. Why do some Japanese parents send their children to university-based kindergartens?A. They can do better in their future studies.B. They can accumulate more group experience there.C. They can be individually oriented when they grow up.D. They can have better chances of getting a first-rate education.Passage FourNow custom has not been commonly regarded as a subject of any great importance. The inner workings of our own brains we feel to be uniquely worthy of investigation, but custom, we have a way of thinking, is behavior at its most commonplace. As a matter of fact, it is the other way around. Traditional custom, taken the world over, is a mass of detailed behavior more astonishing than what any one person can ever evolve in individual actions. Yet that is a rather trivial aspect of the matter. The fact of first-rate importance is the predominant role that custom plays in experience and in belief and the very great varieties it may manifest.No man ever looks at the world with pristine eyes. He sees it edited by a definite set of customs and institutions and ways of thinking. Even in his philosophical probings he cannot go behind these stereotypes; his very concepts of the true and the false will still have reference to his4particular traditional customs. John Dewey has said in all seriousness that the part played by custom in shaping the behavior ofthe individual as over against any way in which he can affecttraditional custom, is as the proportion of the total vocabulary of his mother tongue over against those words of his own baby talk that are taken up into the language of his family. When one seriously studiesaxial orders that have had the opportunity to develop independently,that becomes no more than an exact and matter-of-fact observation. Thelife history of the individual is first and foremost an adjustment to the patterns and standards traditionally handed down in his community. From the moment of his birth the customs into which he is born shape his experience and behavior. By the time he can talk, he is the little creature of his culture, and by the time he is grown and able to take part in its activities, its habits are his habits, its beliefs his beliefs, its impossibilities his impossibilities.16. The author thinks the reason why custom has been ignored in the academic world isthat__________.A. custom reveals only the superficial nature of human behaviorB. the study of social orders can replace the study of customC. people are still not aware of the important role that customplays in forming our worldoutlookD. custom has little to do with our ways of thinking17. Which of the following is true according to John Dewey?A. An individual can exercise very little influence on the cultural tradition into which he isborn.B. Custom is the direct result of the philosophical probings of a group of people.C. An individual is strongly influenced by the cultural tradition even before he is born.D. Custom represents the collective wisdom which benefits the individual. 18. The world "custom" in this passage most probably means__________.A. the concept of the true and the false of a societyB. the independently developed social ordersC. the adjustment of the individual to the new social environmentD. the patterns and standards of behavior of a community19. According to the passage a person's life, from his birth to his death,________.A. is constantly shaping the cultural traditions of his peopleB. is predominated by traditional customC. is continually influenced by the habits of other communitiesD. is chiefly influenced by the people around him20. The author' s purpose in writing this passage is ________.A. to urge individuals to follow traditional customsB. to stress the strong influence of customs on an individualC. to examine the interaction of man and axial customsD. to show man' s adjustment to traditional customsPart II. Translation from English to Chinese 20%Directions: Put the following passages into Chinese. Write your answer on yourAnswer Sheet.5It is impossible to over-emphasize the importance of commercial activity to a country and its people. In almost all developing countries, economic development depends upon growth in export trade, which in turn creates jobs and raises living standards. The increasing import requirements which flow from economic development must somehow be financed, from foreign exchange receipts derived from export earningsand capital investment. Without dynamic expansion in exports the growth of your country’s economy will almost certainly slacken. Your objective as acommercial representative is obviously to do the best possible jobof improving your country’s export earnings, in the broadest meaning of that term.The time has long since arrived to recognize commercialrepresentation as a profession per se, the successful exercise of which is positively correlated with careful initial selection of commercial representatives, the level and content of their formal education and specialized training, the length and variety of their pertinent experience, and the quality of support they receive from the trade promotion organization (TPO) or ministry at home.Part III. Translation from Chinese to English 20%Directions: Put the following passage into English. Write youranswer on yourAnswer Sheet.感恩是一项重要的处事哲学，是生活的大智慧。