广东海洋大学2015级博士研究生入学英语考试试题Part Ⅰ: Reading Comprehension (30%) Direction: In this part, there are four passages. Read each passage carefully, and then choose the best answer from the four choices given below. Passage 1 Humans are forever forgetting that they can't control nature. Exactly 20 years ago, a Time magazine cover story announced that "scientists are on the verge of being able to predict the time, place and even the size of earthquakes". The people of quake-ruined Kobe learned last week how wrong that assertion was. None of the methods raised two decades ago have succeeded. Even now, scientists have yet to discover a uniform warning signal that precedes all quakes, let alone any sign that would tell whether the coming quake is mild or a killer. Earthquake formation can be triggered by many factors, says Hiroo Kanamori, a seismologist at the California Institute of Technology. So, finding one all-purpose warning sign is impossible. One reason: Quakes start deep in the earth, so scientists can't study them directly.If a quake precursor were found, it would still be impossible to warn humans in advance of all dangerous quakes. Places like Japan and California are filled with hundreds, if not thousands, of minor faults . It is impossible to place monitoring instruments on all of them. And these inconspicuous sites can be just as deadly as their better-known cousins like the San Andreas . Both the Kobe and the 1994 Northridge quakes occurred on small faults. Prediction would be less important if scientists could easily build structures to withstand tremors. While seismic engineering has improved dramatically in the past 10 to 15 years, every new quake reveals unexpected weaknesses in "quake-resistant" structures, says Terry Tullis, a geophysicist at Brown University. In Kobe, for example, a highway that opened only last year was damaged. In the Northridge earthquake, on the other hand, well-built structures generally did not collapse. But engineers have since found hidden problems in 120 steel-frame buildings that survived. Such structures are supposed to sway with the earth rather than crumple. They may have swayed, but the quake also unexpectedly weakened the joints in their steelskeletons. If the shaking had been longer or stronger, the buildings might have collapsed.A recent report in Science adds yet more anxiety about life on the fault lines. Researchers ran computer simulations to see how quake-resistant buildings would fare in a moderate-size tremor, taking into account that much of a quake's energy travels in a large "pulse" of focused shaking. The results: both steel-frame buildings and buildings that sit on班级：姓名： 学号：试题共页加白纸张密封线GDOU-B-11-302insulating rubber pads suffered severe damage.More research will help experts design stronger structures and possibly find quake precursors. But it is still a certainty that the next earthquake will prove once again that every fault cannot be monitored and every highway cannot be completely quake-proofed. Questions 1 to 5 are based on the passage 11. Which of the following statements is true about Kobe -------- ?A. Last week's quake occurred on small faults.B. People there believe in scientists' ability to predict earthquakes.C. Buildings there swayed with the quake rather than crumpledD. It can be expected that every fault can be monitored as a result of more research.2. The author's focus in Para. 3 is on --------A. the need for more researchB. the impossibility to predict earthquakesC. the designing of stronger structures and the finding of quake precursorsD. the impossibility of building completely quake-proofed structures3. It's impossible to avoid damages in earthquakes because --------A. scientists can't study quakes that occur deep in the earth directlyB. it's hard to build perfect "quake-resistant" structuresC. instruments cannot be placed on all of the minor faultsD. all of the above4. It is implied in the passage that --------A. well-erected structures do not collapseB. steel-frame buildings survive any earthquakeC. buildings in Northridge will probably collapse in a stronger earthquakeD. seismic engineering has improved enough for structures to resist quakes5. The best title for this passage could be --------A. Nature Is beyond Human ControlB. Earthquakes: Can We Bring Them under Control?C. New Methods and Stronger Structures to Predict and Withhold QuakesD. Can't We Predict Earthquakes?Passage 2Systematic efforts at national nutrition planning in developing countries go back barely a decade. During that brief time there has been considerable progress in establishing the extent and causes of malnutrition and what can be done to reduce it.Ten years ago, malnutrition was often thought to reflect primarily a shortage of protein (and in some cases, vitamins or minerals). Most nutrition programs concentrated on providing high-protein food to children, usually in schools. The emphasis today is different. There is now a wide measure of agreement on several broad propositions.Serious and extensive nutritional deficiencies occur in virtually all developing countries, though they are worst in low-income countries. They are usually caused by undernourishment—a shortage of food—not by an imbalance between calories and protein. There may often be shortage of specific micronutrients and of protein, especially among young children. But given the typical composition of the diets of the poor, to the extent that calorie requirements (as estimated by the FAO and the WHO) are met, it is likely that other nutritional needs will also be satisfied.Malnutririon affects old and young, male and female, urban and rural dwellers; particularly prevalent among children under five, it reduces their resistance to diseases and is a major cause of their death. In many societies, girls suffer more than boys.Malnutrition is largely a reflection of poverty; people do not have enough income for food. Given the slow income growth that is likely for poverty-stricken people in the forseeable future, large numbers will remain malnourished for decades to come.Poor nutritional practices and the inequitable distribution of food within families are also causes of malnutrition.The most effective long-term policies are those that raise the incomes of the poor, and those that raise food production per person. Other relevant policies include food subsidies, nutrition education, adding minerals or vitamins to salt and other processed foods, and increasing emphasis on producing foods typically consumed by the poor.These points will be amplified in the following discussion.Questions 6 to 10 are based on the passage 26. During the past 10 years developing countries ----------.A. have made considerable attempts to plan about nutrition on a nation-wide scaleB. have started nutrition programs that aim at providing high-protein food…tochildren in schoolC. have taken effective measures to reduce malnutrition everywhereD. have reached an agreement to fight malnutrition by combining efforts7. Which one of the following is NOT mentioned as a cause of malnutrition?A. PovertyB. Poor nutritional practiceC. Inequitable distribution of foodD. Inadequate nutrition education8. With regard to the future, the author tends to believe that ----------.A. malnutrition will be largely eliminated in some developing countries in the nextfew yearsB. the developed countries are planning to offer some help to reduce malnutritionC. many people still have to suffer from malnutrition in the near futureD. people’s income in developing countries will grow rapidly in the foreseeablefuture9. “Nutrition education” is mentioned in the passage as ----------A. one of the most effective policies to reduce malnutrition in the long termB. one of the secondary measures of reducing malnutritionC. one of the ways to improve education in developing countriesD. one of the efforts that has been made during the past 10 years10. It can be predicted from the last sentence of the passage that the author is going totalk in detail about ----------.A. policies for reducing malnutritionB. the causes for malnutritionC. how to raise the incomes of the poorD. producing foods typically consumed by the poorPassage 3The chief purpose of work is not to produce things but to build the man. It is not so important what shape or form our work may take; what is vitally important is our attitude toward that work.Even if the particular duty is one which doesn’t seem worth doing, if you must do it, it is important to do it right. Even if no one else will ever know whether you did it right or not, you will know. By making a commitment to quality work, you make a commitment to yourself to develop your abilities and self-respect, to do the best you can do and be the best you can be. When you do as little as possible or just enough to get by, you are not merely cheating your employer, your customers, your clients and your co-workers, but most importantly, you cheat yourself. To cheat yourself out of an opportunity to develop pride and self-worth. You cheat yourself out of an opportunity to meet a challenge and develop your own inner powers and abilities. You may be able to get away with cheating others, but you never get away with cheating yourself.Thus, the key is a commitment to yourself to use every possible opportunity for self-development and treat every work assignment, no matter how small or boring, as a challenge that can be used in your development.Work is a projection of self. Consciousness can regard any job as a potential opportunity for self-expression, for play, for creativity, for the furtherance of social objectives, and it can arrange the factors in the job so that they form a means of self-expression.Most jobs contain at least some limited options for creativity. To the extent that any job can be done in different ways, the job presents you with an opportunity to project your unique abilities and values into that job. Any type of communication, written or spoken, presents a significant opportunity for creative expression. Even if your efforts are reviewed and must be toned down to fit into the mold of your organization, there is always a slight opening through which you can project your unique personality. Use these opportunities to express and confirm your existence.Questions 11 to 15 are based on the passage 311. The most important thing about work is _________.A. to produce thingsB. the shape one’s work takesC. the amount of money it makesD. one’s attitude towards the work12. If the work doesn’t seem worth doing, you should _________.A. give it upB. tell others to do itC. stop in the middleD. perform it carefully13. What can work assignments offer people?A. An opportunity to develop oneselfB. A chance to get away with cheating themselvesC. Few options for creativity.D. A way to get rid of your unique personality.14. Which of the following statements is not true?A. Sometimes you have to adjust yourself to your workB. There is space for you to show your creativity.C. Work must be done in one way in order to be the most efficient.D. You may never cheat yourself.15. The main idea of the passage is _________.A. how to improve your creativityB. the importance of projecting your values into your jobC. when to express yourselfD. how to change one’s personalityPassage 4The study of genetics has given rise to a profitable new industry called biotechnology. As the name suggests, it blends biology and modern technology through such techniques as genetic engineering. Some of the new bi0tech companies, as they are called, specialize in agriculture and are working enthusiastically to patent seeds that give a high yield, that resist disease drought and frost, and that reduce the need for hazardous chemicals. If such goals could be achieved, it would be most beneficial. But some have raised concerns about genetically engineered crops.“In nature, genetic diversity is created within certain limits,” says the book Genetic Engineering, Food, and Our Environment. “A rose can be crossed with a different kind of rose, but a rose will never cross with a potato.... Genetic engineering, on the other hand, usually involves taking genes from one species and inserting them into another in an attempt to transfer a desired property or character. This could mean, for example, selectinga gene which leads to the production of a chemical with antifreeze properties from an arctic fish, and joining it into a potato or strawberry to make it frost-resistant. It is now possible for plants to be engineered with genes taken from bacteria, viruses, insects, animals or even humans.” In essence, then, biotechnology allows humans to break the genetic walls that separate species.Like the green revolution, what some call the gene revolution contributes to the problem of genetic uniformity-- some say even more so because geneticists can employ techniques such as cloning and tissue culture, processes that produce perfectly identical copies, or clones. Concerns about the erosion of biodiversity, therefore, remain. Genetically altered plants, however, raise new issues, such as the effects that they may have on us and the environment. “We a re flying blindly into a new era of agricultural biotechnology with high hopes, few constraints, and little idea of the potential outcomes,” said science writer Jeremy Rifkin.Questions 16 to 20 are based on the passage 416. According to the author, biotech companies are _________.A. mostly specialized in agricultureB. those producing seeds of better propertiesC. mainly concerned about the genetically engineered cropsD. likely to have big returns in their business17. Now biotech products are made _________.A. within the limits of natural geneticsB. by violating laws of natural geneticsC. without the interference of humansD. safer than those without the use of biotechnology18. In nature, genetic diversity is created _________.A. by mixing different speciesB. within the species itselfC. through natural selectionD. through selection or contest19. According to the author, with the development of biotechnology _________.A. the species of creatures will be reducedB. our living environment will be better than it is nowC. humans will pay for its side effectD. we will suffer from fewer and fewer diseases20. The author's attitude towards genetic engineering can best be described as _________.A. optimisticB. PessimisticC. concernedD. suspiciousPassage 5Computers have been taught to play not only checkers, but also championship chess, which is a fairly accurate yardstick for measuring the computer’s progress in the ability to learn from experie nce. Because the game requires logical reasoning, chess would seem to be perfectly suited to the computer .all a programmer has to do is give the computer a program evaluating the consequences of every possible response to every possible move, and the computer will win every time. In theory this is a sensible approach; in practice it is impossible. Today, a powerful computer can analyze 40 000 moves a second. That is an impressive speed. But there are an astronomical number of possible moves in chess—literally trillions. Even if such a program were written (and in theory it could be ,given enough people and enough time), there is no computer capable of holding that much data. Therefore, if the computer is to compete at championship levels, it must be programmed to function with less than complete data. It must be able to learn from experience, to modify its own programm, to deal with a relatively unstructured situation—in a word, to “think” for itself . In fact, this can be done. Chess-playing computers have yet to defeat world champion chess players, but several have beaten human players of only slightly lower ranks. The computers have had programs to carry them through the early, mechanical stages of their chess games. But they have gone on from there to reason and learn, and sometimes to win the game.There are other proofs that computers can be programmed to learn, but this example is sufficient to demonstrate the point. Granted , winning a game of chess is not an earthshaking event even when a computer does it . But there are many serious human problems which ban be fruitfully approached as games. The Defense Department uses computers to play war games and work out strategies for dealing with international tensions. Other problems—international and interpersonal relations , ecology and economics , and the ever-increasing threat of world famine—can perhaps be solved by the joint efforts of human beings and truly intelligent computers .Questions 21 to 25 are based on the passage 521.T he purpose of creating chess-playing computers is __________A to win the world chess championB to pave the way for further intelligent computersC to work out strategies for international warsD to find an accurate yardstick for measuring computer progress22 .Today , a chess-playing computer can be programmed to ________A give trillions of reponses in a second to each possible move and win the gameB function with complete data and beat the best playersC learn from chess-playing in the early stage and go on to win the gameD evaluate every possible move but may fail to give the right response each time23. For a computer to “think” , it is necessary to ________A mange to process as much data as possible in a secondB program it so that it can learn from its experiencesC prepare it for chess-playing firstD enable it to deal with unstructured situations24 .The author’s attitude towards the Defense Department is____A criticalB unconcernedC positiveD negative25. In the author’s opinion,______A winning a chess game is an unimportant eventB serious human problems shouldn’t be regarded as playing a gameC ecological problems are more urgent to be solvedD there is hope for more intelligent computersPassage 6The wor ld has become so complicated that we’ve lost confidence in our ability to understand and deal with it. But common sense is useful now as it ever was. No amount of expertise substitutes for an intimate knowledge of a person or a situation. At times you just have to trust your own judgement. It almost cost me my life to learn that. I was reading a book one day, idly scratching the back of my head, when I noticed that, in one particular spot, the scratching echoed inside my head like fingernailson an empty ca rdboard carton, I rushed off to my doctor.“Got a hole in your head, have you?” he teased. “It’s nothing—just one of those little scalp nerves sounding off.”Two years and four doctors later, I was still being told it was nothing. To the fifth doctor. I said, almost in desperation,”But I live in tis body. I know something’s different.”“If you won’t take my word for it,I’ll take an X-ray and prove it to you,” he said.Well, there it was, of course, the tumor that had made a hole as big as an eye socket in the back of my skull. After the operation, a young resident paused by my bed. ”It’s a good thing you’re so smart,” he said.” Most patient die of these tumors because we don’t know they’re there until it is too late.”I’m really not so smart. And I’m too docile i n the face of authority. I should have been more aggressive with those first four doctors. It’s hard to question opinions delivered with absolute certainty. Experts always sound so sure. Nevile Chamberlain, the British prime minister, was positive, just before the start of World War II, that there would be “peace for our time.” Producer Irving Thalberg did not hesitate to advise Louis B. Mayer against buying the rights to Gone With the Wind because “no Civil War picture ever made a nickel.” Even Abraham Lin coln surely believed it when he said in his Gettysburg Address:” The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here…”We should not, therefore, be intimidated by experts. When it’s an area we really know about—our bodies, our families, our houses—let’s listen to what the experts say, then make up our own minds.Questions 26 to 30 are based on the passage 61. We have to trust our own judgement since ____A. not all of us have acquired reliable expertiseB. experts often lose their common senseC. experts may sometimes fail to give good adviceD. intimate knowledge of a person is not to be substituted for by expertise2. While reading one day, the author______A. found a hole at the back of his headB. heard a scratching sound from a cartonC. noticed some echo from his head where he was scratchingD. noticed a sound coming out from his head28 “tease” in paragraph 3 means______A. to make fun ofB. to comfortC. to replyD. to disbelieve29 The author didn’t think he was smart(para.7)because____A. he had already suffered for two yearsB. he had not been able to put up with the painC. he had believed too much in expertiseD. he had formed too strong an opinion of himself30 .It happens that the examples given by the author_____A. all concern with warsB. are taken from modern American historyC. have become popular themes in moviesD. have American Civil War as the backgroundPart Ⅱ Multiple Choice (15%)Direction: In this part, there are 30 statements. Below each statement are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Choose one word or phrase that best completesthe statement.31.As a teacher you should not show -------- towards any of your students.A. pleasureB. favorC. preferenceD. inclination32. Traffic is -------- by police at every intersection.A. enforcedB. imposedC. limitedD. regulated33. The classroom is 30 feet -------- and 20 feet in breadth.A. at lengthB. in lengthC. as for lengthD. to length34. Theodore Roosevelt was a -------- man; he was successful as a statesman, soldier,sportsman, explorer, and author.A. ableB. capableC. skilfulD. versatile35. If you are to be accepted as a member of the club you must -------- by its rules.A. agreeB. abideC. confirmD. conform36. He gave a -------- account of what has happened.A. discomfortedB. distortedC. dismissedD. discovered37. The speaker was a long way --------.A. on the trackB. in the trackC. of the trackD. off the track38. If the body is robbed this way for too long, vital organs --------.A. break downB. break outC. break awayD. break in39. My pencil is -------- to a stump.A. wornB. worn downC. worn offD. worn out40. After 10 years’ efforts, the farmers have ------- the waste land -------- paddy fields.A. turned … outB. turned … overC. turned … intoD. turned … down41. What you say now is not -------- with what you said last week.A. consistentB. persistentC. permanentD. insistent42. They have decided to -------- physical punishment in all local school.A. put awayB. break away fromC. do away withD. pass away43. The price of the coal will vary according to how far it has to be transported and howexpensive the freight -------- are.A. paymentsB. chargesC. fundsD. prices44. Professor Hawking is -------- as one of the world’s greatest living physicists.A. dignifiedB. clarifiedC. acknowledgedD. illustrated45.Individual sports are run by over 370 independent governing bodies whose functionsusually include -------- rules, holding events, selecting national teams and promoting international links.A. drawing onB. drawing inC. drawing upD. drawing down46. Within seconds, the experienced instructor -------- the situation and decided to attemptrescue.A. assumedB. assuredC. assessedD. affirmed47. The captain of the ship -------- the passengers that there was no danger.A. securedB. ensuredC. assuredD. guaranteed48. A very large cat was watching us intently from the top of a -------- car.A. movelessB. stationeryC. motionlessD. stationary49. The police are -------- a war against crime in the city.A. committingB. breakingC. undertakingD. waging50. Black Death was -------- in England in the summer of 1348 without any warning and,most importantly, without any cure.A. currentB. circulatingC. prevailingD. universal51. He -------- the level of unemployment in China.A. concernsB. has concernedC. is concerning aboutD. is concerned about52. Computer software -------- some 70 percent of our range of products.A. accounts forB. accounts outC. counts onD. counts for53. They tried to ------- the project from being destroyed for shortage of money.A. get inB. leave offC. head offD. bring about54. He spoke clearly and -------- and we could understand every word he said.A. distinguishedB. distinguishableC. distinctlyD. distinctively55. The Bank of England has taken further steps to -------- control over the value of thepound.A. resumeB. resurrectC. retainD. retard56. Except for some colleges --------- by the Catholic church, all colleges and universitiesin the United States, public and private, are governed by a board of trustees composed primarily of laymen.A. elevatedB. grantedC. patentedD. sponsored57. Today, household chores have been made much easier by electrical --------.A. facilitiesB. equipmentC. appliancesD. utilities58. Boys who try to -------- a teacher are not sincere.A. make in forB. make up forC. make up toD. make on to59. Doctors are often caught in a -------- because they have to decide whether they shouldtell their patients the truth or not.A. puzzleB. perplexityC. dilemmaD. bewilderment60. Many countries have adopted systems of -------- education in order to promote theaverage level of education.A. constrainedB. compulsoryC. cardinalD. conventionalPart ⅢCloze(10%)Directions: In this part, there are 10 blanks in the following passage. For each blank there are four choices marked A, B, C and D on the paper. You should choose the ONE that best fits into the passage. Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.The use of nuclear power has already spread all over the world. However, scientists still have not agreed 61 what should be done with the large amounts of waste material that tend to increase every year. Most waste material are 62 of simply by placing them somewhere. But nuclear waste must be handled with great care. It 63 dangerous radiation and it will continue to be 64 for hundreds, thousands, even millions of years.How should we get rid of such waste material in such a way that it will not harm the environment? Where can we 65 distribute it? One idea is to put this radioactive waste inside a thick container, which is then dropped to the deep bottom of the ocean. But some scientists believe that this way of 66 nuclear waste could kill fish and other living things in the oceans or interfere 67 their growth. Another way to 68 nuclear waste is to send it into space, to the sun, 69 it would be burned. Other scientists suggest that this polluting material be buried thousands of meters under the earth’s surface. Such underground areas must be free of possible earthquakes.Advances are being made. But it may still be many years 70 this problem could be finally settled.。