福建师范大学外国语学院《211翻译硕士英语》历年考研真题答案解析

【内容节选】 2010年福建师范大学外国语学院211翻译硕士英语考研真题及详解I. Vocabulary andgrammar (30 points, 1.5 points for each)Multiple choiceDirections: Beneath each sentence there arefour words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Choose the answer that bestcompletes the sentence. Mark your answers on your answer sheet.1 Mr. Smith will _____ resign in view ofthe complete failure of the research project.A. doubtfullyB. adequatelyC. presumablyD. reasonably【答案】C查看答案【解析】句意：鉴于史密斯先生这次在研究项目上彻底的失败，他很有可能要辞职。presumably很可能，大概。doubtfully怀疑地，含糊地。adequately足够地。reasonably合理地，有理性地。因此，本题的正确答案为C。2 She is so sophisticated that she remains confident and _____untroubled by our present problems.A. indefinitelyB. infinitelyC. optimisticallyD.pessimistically【答案】C查看答案【解析】句意：她非常的老练，遇到我们现在遭遇的问题她依旧自信，乐观，不受干扰。optimistically乐观地。乐观地，与confident属于同一个语义场。indefinitely无期限地。infinitely极其，非常。pessimistically悲观地。因此，本题的正确答案为C。3 The Chinese Red Cross is _____ theInternational Red Cross.A. blended withB. affiliatedwith C. adjacent toD. pertinent to【答案】B查看答案【解析】句意：中国红十字会隶属于国际红十字会。be affiliated with隶属于。be blended with与……混合在一起。be adjacent to与……毗邻。be pertinent to与……相干。因此，本题的正确答案为B。4 The authorities will _____ your licenseif you get caught drunk driving.A. revokeB. restoreC. authorizeD. withdraw【答案】A查看答案【解析】句意：如果你酒驾被抓，当局会撤销你的驾驶证。revoke取消，撤销，废除（许可，法律、协议等）。restore恢复，复位。authorize批准，许可。withdraw撤离。因此，本题的正确答案为A。5 Often such arguments have the effect of_____ rather than clarifying the issues involved.A. compromisingB. obscuringC. tacklingD. prejudicing【答案】B查看答案【解析】句意：通常这样的争论只会让问题模糊化，而不是解释清楚牵涉的问题。obscure作动词，意为“使模糊，使隐晦”。compromise妥协，和解。tackle解决问题。prejudice作动词，意为“使怀有偏见”。因此，本题的正确答案为B。6 More than 85 percent of the population in that country speaksFrench as a mother tongue and _____ to the Roman Catholic faith.A. ascribesB. subscribesC. adheresD. caters【答案】B查看答案【解析】句意：那个国家85%以上的人把法语当成母语并且坚持罗马天主教的信仰。adhere to 固守，坚持，固执（于……），粘附，附着，追随，支持。ascribe to 归咎于，归因于， 把……归属于。subscribe to 捐助，订购（书籍等）。cater to 对……提供所需的东西，迎合，供应伙食。因此，本题的正确选项为B。7 Some American colleges are state-supported, others are privately_____, and still others are supported by religious organizations.A. enlightenedB. attributedC. authorizedD. endowed【答案】D查看答案【解析】句意：在美国，一些大学是国立的，一些大学时私人捐赠建立的，还有一些是宗教组织建立的。有题意可知，本题要选出同support同义的词。endow（向学校等机构）捐钱，资助。enlighten启发，启蒙。attribute把……归因于。authorize批准，授权。因此，本题的正确答案为D。8 When people are asked what kind of housing they need or want, thequestion _____ a variety of answers.A. defiesB. magnifiesC. mediatesD. evokes【答案】D查看答案【解析】句意：当人们被问起他们需要什么样的房子，这个问题引起了多种答案。 evoke引起，唤起。defy违抗，反抗。magnify放大，增强。mediate调停，调解促成（协议）。因此，本题的正确答案为D。9 A felling of sadness _____ theatmosphere after they heard the news of the air crash.A. scatteredB. permeatedC. shatteredD. overflowed【答案】B查看答案【解析】句意：人们听到这场空难的消息后，悲伤的情绪在空气中弥漫开来。permeate（气体、液体）弥漫，（情绪）扩散，感染。scatter撒，散播。shatter使破碎，使破裂。overflow漫出，溢出。因此，本题的正确答案为B。10 The lady in this strange tale very obviously suffers from mentalillness. Her plot against a completely innocent ole man is a sign of _____.A. impulseB. insanityC. inspirationD. disposition【答案】B查看答案【解析】句意：很明显，这篇奇异故事中的女士有精神病，她对一位完全无辜的老人设置阴谋就体现了她的精神失常。insanity精神失常。impulse冲动，心血来潮。inspiration灵感。disposition性格，性情。因此，本题的正确答案为B。11 We’ll be very careful and keep what you’vetold us strictly _____.A. rigorousB. confidentialC. incredibleD. mysterious【答案】B查看答案【解析】句意：我们会非常小心，严格保密你告诉我们的话。confidential保密的，机密的。rigorous细致的，谨慎的。incredible难以置信的，mysterious神秘的。confidential保密的，最符合语境。因此，本题的正确答案为B。12 Herman’s success is due to his hard work and his ability to_____ plans which will get work done efficiently.A. fulfillB. elevateC. formulateD. paralyze【答案】C查看答案【解析】句意：赫尔曼的成功要归功于他的勤奋和制定高效工作计划的能力。formulate制定，规划，构想。fulfill完成。elevate举起，抬高，提拔。paralyze使麻痹。因此，本题的正确答案为C。13 Peter was _____ of speeding when he sawthe patrolmen.A. on the edgeofB. on the wayofC. on thefringe ofD. on the vergeof【答案】D查看答案【解析】句意：彼得在看到巡警的时候几乎超速了。on the verge of几乎，差不多。on the edge of与on the fringe of同义，意为“在……边缘”。on the way of在……的路上，关于……的方法。因此，本题的正确答案为D。14 It is usually agreed that economic controls can _____ inflationby preventing overt wage and price and price increases from taking place.A. suppressB. impressC. compressD. depress【答案】A查看答案【解析】句意：多数人同意经济控制能够通过阻止公开的工资和价格增长来抑制通货膨胀。suppress抑制，压制。impress给……留下印象。compress压缩。depress使抑郁，降低（价格）。因此，本题的正确答案为A。15 _____, a man who expresses himself efficiently is sure tosucceed more rapidly than a man whose command of language is poor.A. Other thingsbeing equalB. Were otherthings equalC. To be equalto other thingsD. Other thinsto be equal【答案】A查看答案【解析】句意：在其它条件相同的情况下，一个能有效地表达自己的人比一个语言表达能力差的人更容易获得成功。本题考查独立主格结构，A项为“otherthings are equal”的独立主格形式，being为非谓语。B项为虚拟语气句，原型是“if other things were equal”，既然从句为虚拟语气句，相应的主句也应该为虚拟语气句，明显与事实不符。C项为目的状语从句，与原句逻辑不通。D项时态不对，不需要用将来时。因此，本题的正确答案为A。16 Most doctors recognize that medicine is_____.A. an art asmuch it is a scienceB. as much anart as it is a scienceC. as an art asmuch it is a scienceD. much an artas it is a science【答案】B查看答案【解析】句意：大多数医生都承认医学既是一门科学，也是一门艺术。本题考查as much as的用法。as much as意为“既……又……”时，用法有两种，第一是as much as作为一个整体，第二种是as much + A + as + B，如 It’s as much your responsibility as mine.翻译为“这既是你的责任，也是我的责任”。因此，本题的正确答案为B。17 _____ that they may eventually reduce the amount of labor neededon construction sites by 90 percent.A. So cleverare the construction robotsB. So cleverconstruction robots areC. Suchconstruction robots are cleverD. Such cleverconstruction robots are【答案】A查看答案【解析】句意：建筑机器人是如此的聪明，它们的建设最终可能减少90个百分点的地盘需要的劳动量。so/such 结构放在句首的时候要构成部分倒装。clever是形容词所以要用so。 soclever are the construction robot=the construction robots are so clever。因此，本题的正确答案为A。18 Once they had fame, fortune, securefutures; _____ is utter povertyA. now that allis leftB. now all thatis leftC. now allwhich is leftD. now all whatis left【答案】B查看答案【解析】句意：他们曾经有名望、有财富和有无虑的未来，而现在剩下的只是彻底的贫穷。all是个代词,后跟定语从句，并且只能用关系代词that引导，what不是关系代词，不能引导定语从句。因此，本题的正确答案为B。19 The years of practice, of developing myspecial technique, are just about to _____.A. turn upB. figured outC. pay offD. clear away【答案】C查看答案【解析】句意：多年的培养技能的练习终于快要得到回报了。pay off得到回报。turn up露面，被发现。figure out计算，弄明白。clear away清除，收拾。因此，本题的正确答案为C。20 Because a degree from a good university is the means to a betterjob, education is one of the most _____ areas in Chinese life.A. sophisticatedB. competitiveC. contagiousD. superficial【答案】B查看答案【解析】句意：因为在中国优秀大学的学历是通向一份好工作的途径，因此，教育是中国人生活中竞争最激烈的领域之一。competitive竞争的。sophisticated见多识广的，精密的。contagious接触传染的。superficial表面的，肤浅的。因此，本题的正确答案为B。II. Readingcomprehension (40 points)Section 1  Multiplechoice (20 points, 2 points for each)Directions: In this section there are readingpassages followed by multiple-choice questions. Read the passages and then markyour answers on your answer sheet.Passage APersistent bullying is one of the worstexperiences a child can face. How can it be prevented? Peter Smith, Professorof Psychology at the University of Sheffield, directed the SheffieldAnti-Bullying Intervention Project, funded by the Department for Education.Here he reports on his findings.Bullying cantake a variety of forms, from the verbal—being taunted or called hurtful names—to the physical—being kicked or shoved—as well as indirect forms, suchas being excluded from social groups. A survey I conducted with Irene Whitneyfound that in British primary schools up to a quarter of pupils reportedexperience of bullying, which in about one in ten cases was persistent. Therewas less bullying in secondary schools, with about one in twenty-five sufferingpersistent bullying, but these cases may be particularly recalcitrant.Bullying isclearly unpleasant, and can make the child experiencing it feel unworthy anddepressed. In extreme cases it can even lead to suicide, though this isthankfully rare. Victimized pupils are more likely to experience difficultieswith interpersonal relationships as adults, while children who persistentlybully are more likely to grow up to be physically violent, and convicted ofanti-social offences.Until recently,not much was known about the topic, and little help was available to teachersto deal with bullying. Perhaps as a consequence, schools would often deny theproblem. “There is no bullying at this school” has been a common refrain,almost certainly untrue. Fortunately more schools are now saying: “There is notmuch bullying here, but when it occurs we have a clear policy for dealing withit.”Three factorsare involved in this change. First is an awareness of the severity of theproblem. Second, a number of resources to help tackle bullying have becomeavailable in Britain. For example, the Scottish Council for Research inEducation produced a package of materials, Action Against Bullying, circulatedto all schools in England and Wales as well as in Scotland in summer 1992, witha second pack, Supporting Schools Against Bullying, produced the followingyear. In Ireland, Guidelines on Countering Bullying Behavior in Post-PrimarySchools was published in 1993. Third, there is evidence that these materialswork, and that schools can achieve something. This comes from carefullyconducted “before and after” evaluations of interventions in schools, monitoredby a research team. In Norway, after an intervention campaign was introducednationally, an evaluation of forty-two schools suggested that, over a two-yearperiod, bullying was halved. The Sheffield investigation, which involvedsixteen primary schools and seven secondary schools, found that most schoolssucceeded in reducing bullying.Evidencesuggests that a key step is to develop a policy on bullying, saying clearlywhat is meant by bullying, and giving explicit guidelines on what will be doneif it occurs, what records will be kept, who will be informed, what sanctionswill be employed. The policy should be developed through consultation, over aperiod of time—notjust imposed from the head teacher’s office! Pupils, parents and staff shouldfeel they have been involved in the policy, which needs to be disseminated andimplemented effectively.Other actionscan be taken to back up the policy. There are ways of dealing with the topicthrough the curriculum, using video, drama and literature. These are useful forraising awareness, and can best be tied in to early phases of development,while the school is starting to discuss the issue of bullying. They are also usefulin renewing the policy for new pupils, or revising it in the light ofexperience. But curriculum work alone may only have short-term effects; itshould be an addition to policy work, not a substitute.There are alsoways of working with individual pupils, or in small groups. Assertivenesstraining for pupils who are liable to be victims is worthwhile, and certainapproaches to group bullying such as “no blame”, can be useful in changing thebehavior of bullying pupils without confronting them directly, although othersanctions may be needed for those who continue with persistent bullying.Work in theplayground is important, too. One helpful step is to train lunchtimesupervisors to distinguish bullying from playful fighting, and help them breakup conflicts. Another possibility is to improve the playground environment, sothat pupils are less likely to be led into bullying from boredom orfrustration.With thesedevelopments, schools can expect that at least the most serious kinds ofbullying can largely be prevented. The more effort put in and the wider thewhole school involvement, the more substantial the results are likely to be.The reduction in bullying—and the consequent improvement in pupil happiness - is surely aworthwhile objective.1 A recent surveyfound that in British secondary schools _____.A. there was more bullying than had previously been thecaseB. there was less bullying than in primary schoolsC. cases of persistent bullying were very commonD. indirect forms of bullying were particularly difficultto deal with2 Children who arebullied _____.A. are twice as likely to commit suicide as the averagepersonB. find it more difficult to relate to adultsC. are less likely to be violent in later lifeD. may have difficulty forming relationships in later life3 The writer thinksthat the declaration “There is no bullying at this school” _____.A. is no longer true in many schoolsB. was not in fact made by many schoolsC. reflected the school’s lack of concernD. reflected a lack of knowledge and resources4 What were thefindings of research carried out in Norway?A. Bullying declined by 50% after an anti-bullyingcampaign.B. Twenty-one schools reduced bullying as a result of ananti-bullying campaign.C. Two years is the optimum length for an anti-bullyingcampaign.D. Bullying is a less serious problem in Norway than in theUK.5 Which of thefollowing is the most suitable title for the passage?A. Bullying: what parents can doB. Bullying: are the media to blameC. Bullying: the link with academic failureD. Bullying: from crisis management to prevention【答案与解析】1 B  文章第1段提到“There was less bullying in secondary schools”，第1段提到英国小学生中长期霸凌的概率是1/10，而英国中学生中长期霸凌的概率为1/25，由此可知，英国中学中的霸凌现象比小学的少。故选B。2 D  文章第2段第3句提到“Victimized pupils are more likely to experiencedifficulties with interpersonal relationships as adults”，由此可知，受霸凌的学生会在今后的成人生活中遇到人际交往的问题。故选D。3 D  文章第4段开头提到学校从不承认校园霸凌到承认的态度转变主要是有两个原因：“First is an awareness of the severity of theproblem. Second, a number of resources to help tackle bullying have becomeavailable in Britain.”，由此可推测，之前学校不承认校园霸凌的原因是校方缺乏意识和资源，故选D。文章第3段倒数第2句提到题中的说法是不正确的，故排除A、B。C项在文中没有提及。故选D。4 A  文章第4段倒数第2句提到“In Norway, after an intervention campaign wasintroduced nationally, an evaluation of forty-two schools suggested that, overa two-year period, bullying was halved”，由此可知，在一场反霸凌运动后，霸凌现象减少了一半，故A正确。B项错在学校的数量，学校的数量应为42。C项过度延伸题意，这场运动持续了2年，但作者并没有指出2年是最佳的时长。D项在文中没有提及。故选A。5 D  文章从第三段开始讲述阻止校园霸凌现象的方法，由此可见全文大部分内容与抑制校园霸凌的内容有关，因此选择D项。文章并未提到校园霸凌与父母、媒体以及学术的关系，故因此排除A、B、C。故选D。Passage BIt is over fivehundred years since Columbus “discovered” America. The celebration of theanniversary has at least produced one benefit. It has so effectively focused onthe worldwide problem of the rights of aboriginal peoples. Developments inAmerica demonstrate the problem more clearly than anywhere else. This was awhole continent, the population of which in Columbus’s day may have numbered asmany as 100 million. Today only a fraction of these Indian peoples survive, andany truly Indian culture can only be found isolated in small pockets. Why wasthe Indian culture less able than others to resist the European pressure? Anyprocesses elsewhere resembling the one in America have only taken place in moremarginal areas of the world. Such processes are complex, and this is not theplace for a more detailed analysis. What is clear, however, is that at certaintimes and in certain places we are confronted by a different force frominfectious diseases and mortality or the haphazard outcome of wars andrapacity, and that is the systemic “ethnic cleansing” of the aboriginalpopulation—betterknown as genocide. There is a most urgent need to define the rights ofaboriginal peoples and to respect those rights in a manner which makes itpossible to live in peace and mutual understanding. To succeed in this, we needpeople like Turn. For this Committee it was a happy coincidence that it wasprecisely in the year of Columbus that she emerged as such a strong candidatefor this Prize.Tum chose todedicate herself to political and social work for her people. She tells us inher autobiography what a difficult choice it was not to have a family. She wasengaged, she tells us, and felt an obligation to the ancestral principle ofseeking happiness not only for oneself but for one’s family. A threat of ethniccleansing of course lends extra weight to such an obligation. But she choseotherwise. She became an active member of the CUC. Then she participated in thefounding of the organization called the Revolutionary Christians. “Weunderstood ‘revolutionary’ in the real meaning of the word: ‘transformation’.If I had chosen the armed struggle, I would be in the mountains now.” Owing toher political activity, she has had to spend twelve years in exile in Mexico.In her book AStrategy for Peace, the Swedish-American moral philosopher Sissela Bokdescribes what she calls the “pathology of partisanship”, or the brutalizingeffect of the use of violence. Whoever commits acts of violence will lose hishumanity. Thus, violence breeds violence and hate breeds hate. She quotes theEnglish poet Stephen Spender, who experienced this process in himself when hetook part in the Spanish Civil War. “It was clear to me that unless I caredabout every murdered child impartially, I did not care about children beingmurdered at all.” But how can one break out of the vicious circle of thepathology of partisanship? It is easy enough to keep out and call fornon-violence or an end to hatred when one is not oneself confronted with theblind violence of the other side. Nor is it indeed our responsibility to judgeor to condemn in such cases. What we can do, however, is to point to theshining individual examples of people who manage to preserve their humanity inbrutal and violent surroundings, of persons who for that very reason compel ourspecial respect and admiration. Such people give us a hope that there are waysout of the vicious circle.Tum’sautobiography is an extraordinary human document. It describes cruelty in soberand matter-of-fact terms. Its driving force is moral indignation. In someconnections, she also mentions her hatred of those responsible for the violenceand repression. But at the same time, the account reflects a disarming humanity.Almost gaily, she notes funny little concrete details in an otherwise ruthlessexistence; with love, she describes Indian customs. I know no better example ofher disarming attitude than her description here in Oslo last year of hermeeting with Colonel Roderigues: “We greeted each other and exchanged a fewwords. The man who killed my mother congratulated me on my nomination for theNobel Peace Prize and called it a national honour. I realized then that atbottom we are all human beings. It was like meeting a distant acquaintance. Ihad a feeling of calm as I spoke to him.”It is stupid tomeet the world with too much trust, but even more stupid to meet it with toolittle. The goal of Tum’s work, as she has said on many occasions; isreconciliation and peace. She knows, better than most, that the foundations forfuture reconciliation are laid in the manner in which one conducts one’sstruggle. Even in the most brutal situations, one must retain one’s faith thatthere is a minimum of human feelings in all of us. Tum preserved that faith. Itis with the deepest respect and in admiration of her efforts that the NorwegianNobel Committee today awards her the Nobel Peace Prize.6 The passage indicates that the majorreason for the decline of the India culture is _____.A. its isolationfrom other culturesB. the influenceof infectious diseasesC. the result ofavarice and cupidityD. the genocideof the Indian people7 According to the passage, which of thefollowing statements is NOT true?A. Tum has neverhated Colonel Roderigues.B. We have notwell protected the rights of aboriginal peoples.C. Tum wasengaged but did not get married.D. StephenSpender understood the brutalizing effect of war.8 The author thinks that one way to break out of the vicious circleof the pathology of partisanship is to______.A. end hatredwhen one is not the victim of violenceB. condemn blindinstances of violence or brutalityC. preserveone’s humanity even in brutal situationsD. meet theworld with as much trust as possible 9 Tum is an advocate of all the followingEXCEPT______.A. human rightsB. armedstruggleC. non-violenceD. reconciliation10 It can be inferred from the passage that Tum would view humanityas all the following EXCEPT______.A. having ahatred of only those who are responsible for violenceB. having adisarming attitude towards those responsible for repressionC. having thebelief that at bottom every one of us is a human beingD. having thefaith that peaceful struggle will lead to reconciliation【答案与解析】6 D  文章第一段倒数第4句提到“Whatis clear, however, is that…better known as genocide.”由此可知，印第安文化消失的主要原因是印第安种族的灭绝，故D表述正确。A、B、C都是印第安种族灭绝的原因，不具有概括性。故选D。7 A  文章第4段提到“Iknow no better example of her disarming attitude than her description here inOslo last year of her meeting with Colonel Roderigues”从关键词“disarming attitude”可知，Tum对 Colonel Roderigues消除了敌意，由此推测Tum曾经恨过Colonel Roderigues，因此A错误，故选A。8 C  文章第3段倒数第2句提到“What we can do, however, isto point to the shining individual examples of people who manage to preservetheir humanity in brutal and violent surroundings”，由此可知，要想打破偏见病理的循环，我们要在残忍的环境里依旧保持人道主义之心。故选C。9 B  文章第4段中间提到“theaccount reflects a disarming humanity”，文章还多处提到Tum“disarmingattitude”说明Tum排斥武力，暴力，主张和平。因此B项不属于Tum的观点，故选B。10 A  文章倒数第2段提到Tum曾对那些发动暴力有怨恨，但紧接着作者提到Tum的态度是消除敌意，因此B表述正确，A错误。C、D项在最后一段均有体现。故选A。Section 2  Answeringquestion (20 points, 4 points for each)Direction: Read the following passage and thenanswer IN COMPLETE SENTENCES the questions which follow each passage. Use onlyinformation from the passage you have just read and write your answer in thecorresponding space in your answer sheet.Questions 1-3An unexplainedand unprecedented rise in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere two years runninghas raised fears that the world may be on the brink of runaway global warming.Scientists are baffled why the quantity of the main greenhouse gas has leapt ina two-year period and are concerned that the Earth’s natural systems are nolonger able to absorb as much as in the past. The findings will be discussedtomorrow by the government’s chief scientist, Dr. David King, at the annualGreenpeace lecture.Measurements ofCO2 have been continuous for 50 years at Mauna Loa Observatory. 12.000ft up amountain in Hawaii, regarded as far enough away from any carbon dioxide sourceto be a reliable measuring point. In recent decades CO2 increased on average by1.5 parts per million (ppm) a year because of the amount of oil, coal and gasburnt, but has now jumped to more than 2 ppm in 2002 and 2003. Above or belowaverage rises in CO2 levels in the atmosphere have been explained in the pastby natural events. When the Pacific warms up during EI Nino, the amount ofcarbon dioxide rises dramatically as warm oceans emit CO2 rather than absorb it.But scientistsare Puzzled because over the past two years, when the increases have been 2.08ppm and 2.5ppm respectively, there has been no EI Nino. Charles Keeling, theman who began the observations in 1958, is now 74 and still working in thefield. He said yesterday: “The rise in the annual rate to above two parts permillion for two consecutive years is a real phenomenon. It is possible thatthis is merely a reflection of natural events like previous peaks in the rate,but it is also possible that it is the beginning of a natural processunprecedented in the record.”Analysts stressthat it is too early to draw any long-term conclusions. But the fear is thatthe greater than normal rises in CO2 emissions mean that instead of decades tobring global warming under control we may have only a few years. At worst, thefigures could be the first sign of the breakdown in the Earth’s NATURAL SYSTEMFOR ABSORBING THE GAS. That would herald the so-called “runaway greenhouseeffect,” where the planet’s soaring temperature becomes impossible to contain.One of thepredictions made by climate scientists in the intergovernmental Panel onClimate Change is that as the Earth warms, the absorption of carbon dioxide byvegetation-known as “carbon sink”—is reduced. Dr. Keeling said since there was no sign of a dramaticincrease in the amount of fossil fuels being burnt in 2002 and 2003, the rise“could be a weakening of the Earth’s carbon sinks, associated with the worldwarming, as part of a climate change feedback mechanism. It is a cause forconcern.”Tom Burke,visiting professor at Imperial College London, and a former special adviser tothe former Tory environment minister, warned: “We’re watching the clock and theclock is beginning to tick faster, like it seems to before a bomb goes off.” PeterCox, head of the Carbon Cycle Group at the Met Office’s Hadley Centre forClimate Change, said the increase in carbon dioxide was not uniform across theglobe. “My guess is that there were extra forest fires in the northern hemisphere,and particularly a very hot summer in Europe.” Dr. Cox said. “This led to adie-back in vegetation and an increase in release of carbon from the soil,rather than more growing plants taking carbon out of the atmosphere, which isusually the case in summer.”Scientists havedubbed the two-year CO2 rise the Mauna Loa anomaly. Dr. Cox said one of itsmost interesting aspects was that the CO2 rises did not take place in EI Ninoyears. Previously the only figures that climbed higher than 2 ppm were EI Ninoyears. The heat wave of last year which claimed at least 30,000 lives acrossthe world was so out of the ordinary that many scientists believe it could onlyhave been caused by global warming. But D r Cox is concerned that too muchmight be read into two years’ figures. “5 or 6 years on the trot would be verydifficult to explain,” he said.Dr. PiersForster, senior research fellow of the University of Reading’s Department ofMeteorology, said: “if this is a rate change, of course it will be very significant.It will be of enormous concern, because it will imply that all our globalwarming predictions for the next hundred years or so will have to be redone.”David Hofmann ofthe US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration centre, which also studiesCO2, was more cautious. “I don’t think an increase of 2 ppm for two years in arow is highly significant—there are climatic perturbations that can make this occur,” he said.“But the absence of a known climatic event does make these years unusual. Basedon those two years alone I would say it was too soon to say that a new trendhas been established, but it warrants close scrutiny.”1 Why has the change in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over thepast two years raised fear and concern among climate scientists?2 Explain briefly Tom Burke’s warning “We’re watching the clock andthe clock is beginning to tick faster, like it seems to before a bomb goesoff.” (para.6)3 What are the major explanations for thechange in CO2 over the past two years?【答案与解析】1 Because in the past, above or below average rises in CO2 levelsin the atmosphere have been explained by natural events such as EI Nino.However, this time while there has been no EI Nino, the CO2 levels have risen unprecedentedly.Thus scientists fear that this may be caused by global warming.（文章开头就提到科学家担心过去两年二氧化碳含量空前绝后的增高很有可能预示着全球变暖的开端。随后第2、3段又继续解释原因，即往年二氧化碳高于平均水平的增加是因为自然事件，像厄尔尼诺。但过去这两年并没有出现过厄尔尼诺，因此科学家担心原因可能是全球变暖到来了。）2 Tom Burke’s warning means that the situation is becoming more andmore pressing, maybe quite soon we’ll finally enter the age of global warming.（定位至文章第6段，Tom Burke形象地警示我们时钟走得越来越快了，好像预示着一颗炸弹就要爆炸了。时钟走得越来越快是在暗示我们的处境越来越危急，爆炸的炸弹这里指“全球变暖”，暗示着我们很可能真的要进入全球变暖时代，这样的话人类日后的处境会更加艰难。）3 First, the absorption of carbon dioxide by vegetation—known as “carbon sink”—is reduced. Second, there mayhave been extra forest fires in the northern hemisphere, and particularly avery hot summer in Europe.（文章第4、5段提到一个重要原因是吸收二氧化碳的植被减少了，或者是吸收二氧化碳气体的自然系统在崩坏。另一个原因在文章第6段，考克斯博士根据全球二氧化碳增长分布不均衡的形式推测，原因可能是欧洲地区在过去两年的夏天遭遇了比往年更多的森林火灾。）Questions 4-5The new SATscores are out, and buried in them is a sign of hope for American education.True, the scores are actually a bit lower than last year’s; the combinedaverage for the SAT’s math and reading sections fell 7 points, to 1021, thebiggest decrease since 1975, when the score dropped 16 points, to 1010. Butstatistically speaking, a 7-point decline (out of a possible 1600 on those twosections) isn’t much. It’s less than the value of a single question, which isabout 10 points. Also, the SAT was radically changed last year. The CollegeBoard made it longer and added Algebra II, more grammar and an essay. Fewerkids wanted to take the new 3-hr. 45-min. test more than once, so fewer had anopportunity to improve their performance. Scores were bound to slide.But tucked intothe reams of data the College Board included with the new scores was somewonderful news: I was wrong. In 2003 I spent six months tracking thedevelopment of the new SAT. I sat through hours of test-development sessionsand even learned how to grade SAT essays. TIME ran my resulting story on itscover that October.The story didmake some predictions that turned out to be right. For instance, the new testfavors girls more than the old one did. It is a long-standing tenet of test makingthat girls outperform boys on writing exams. For reasons I am not foolishenough to speculate about in print, girls are better than boys at fixinggrammar and constructing essays, so the addition of a third SAT section, onwriting, was almost certain to shrink the male-female score gap. It did. Girlstrounced boys on the new writing section, 502 to 491. Boys still outscoredgirls overall, thanks largely to boys’ 536 average on the math section,compared with girls’ 502. But boys now lead on the reading section by just 3points, 505 to 502; the gap was 8 points last year. What changed? The new testhas no analogies (“bird is to nest” as “dog is to doghouse”), and boys usuallyclobbered girls on analogies.My story alsopredicted that the addition of the writing section would damage the SAT’Sreliability. Reliability is a measure of how similar a test’s results are fromone sitting to the next. The pre-2005 SAT had a standard error of measurementof about 30 points per section. In other words, if you got a 500 on the mathsection, your “true” score was anywhere between 470 and 530. But the newwriting section, which includes not only a multiple-choice grammar segment butalso the subjective essay, has a standard error of measurement of 40 points.That means a kid who gets a 760 in writing may actually be a perfect 800—or aclever-but-no-genius 720. In short, the College Board sacrificed somereliability in order to include writing.Finally, I wasright about one other thing: that the graders would reward formulaic, colorlesswriting over sharp young voices. The average essay score for kids who wrote inthe first person was 6.9, compared with 7.2 for those who didn’t. (A 1-to-12scale is used to grade essays. That score is then combined with the score onthe grammar questions and translated into the familiar 200 to 800 points.) Asmy editors know well, first-person writing can flop. But the College Board isnow distributing a guide called “20 Outstanding SAT Essays”—all of them perfectscores—and many are unbearably mechanical and clichéd.Still, there’sgood news. The central contention of my 2003 story was that the SAT’S shiftfrom an abstract-reasoning test to a test of classroom material like Algebra 11would hurt kids from failing schools. I was worried that the most vulnerablestudents would struggle on the new version. Instead, the very poorestchildren—those from families earning less than $20,000 a year—improved theirSAT performance this year. It was a modest improvement (just 3 points) butsignificant, given the overall slump in scores. And noncitizen residents andrefugees saw their scores rise an impressive 13 points. It was middleclass andrich kids who account for the much reported decline.What explainsthose wonderfully unpredictable findings? The College Board has no firmanswers, but its top researcher, Wayne Camara, suggests a (somewhatself-serving) theory: the new SAT is less coachable. When designing the newtest, the board banned analogies and “quantitative comparisons”. “I think thoseitems disadvantaged students who did not have the resources, the motivation,the awareness to figure out how to approach them,” says Camara. “By eliminatingthose, the test becomes much less about strategy.” Because it focuses more onwhat high schools teach and less on tricky reasoning questions, the SAT is nowmore, not less, egalitarian.Sometimes it’snice to be wrong.4 What are some of the “right” predictionsthe author made about the new SAT a few years ago?5 Why does the author say that the addition of the writing sectionwould “damage the SAT’s reliability” (para.4)?【答案与解析】4 The author’s right predictions include three aspects. First, thenew test favors girls more than the old one did. Second, the addition of thewriting section would damage the SAT’S reliability. Third, that the graderswould reward formulaic, colorless writing over sharp young voices.（作者对于新的学业能力倾向测试有三大预测是应验的，分别分布在3、4、5三个段落。第3段提到作者预测新型学业测试对女生更有利，因为新增的写作正是女生擅长的部分。第4段提到新增的写作部分会让测试可靠度下降，因为写作的批改主观性太强。第5段提到作者预测批卷人更喜欢刻板类的文章，而不是个人立场鲜明的文章。）5 The author tells us that before theaddition of the writing section, the standard error of measurement of SAT isonly about 30 points per section. However, with the addition of the new writingsection, which is a quite subjective part, the standard error of measurement risesto 40 points. Therefore, the reliability of the test is more or less damaged.（文章第4段提到，改革前的测试分值误差上下不过30分，但是因为新型的测试加入了主观性较强的作文，因此分值误差增加至40分左右。因此，测试的可靠度就下降了。）III. Writing (30 points)Some peopleargue that the only way to improve road safety is to impose severe punishmentfor driving offences. Do you agree or disagree?Write acomposition of about 400 words on your view of the topic on the answer sheet.【参考范文】Measures on Improving the Road SafetyThere is nodenying that vehicle accidents are one of the top causes of injuries and deathworldwide. In my opinion, to reduce traffic accidents and improve road safetyis likely to need more than a simple severe punishment for driving offences.It is undeniablethat severe punishments for driving offences will limit drivers’ behaviorbecause no one is willing to be fined or punished. However, placing punishmentas the only way to improve the road safety is far from enough. Besides, thispolicy may even cause some trouble. For instance, since punishment is the onlyway to solve problems, some drivers may bear the fluky psychology by payingmoney to solve troubles, which may results in a corrupt atmosphere. However, thereare various other measures that could be implemented to improve road safety.Firstly, I thinkthat the minimum legal age of drivers should be raised. Minor drivers are morelikely to cause car accidents mainly due to their incapability to control theirvehicles in emergency. What’s more, young teenagers pursue excitement more thancomfort, for they believe driving fast is cool, which is quite dangerous on theroad.Secondly, Ithink to help reduce traffic injuries, a zero tolerance policy on drink drivingshould be imposed worldwide. According to the WHO, the level of enforcement ofdrink-driving laws has a direct effect on the incidence of drinking anddriving. Besides, drivers are supposed to strictly abide by traffic rules, asignoring or breaking them is another main cause of fatal road accidents. Forinstance, over-speeding is deemed as top road killer and should be avoidedwhether or not the traffic police or speed cameras are present.Thirdly, thesafety awareness of drivers is as well important. For example, drivers whoignore shoulder-check when making turns or merging are more likely to causecrash injures than those who do check their shoulders. Also, bad road users’behaviors like listing to music on headphones or using mobile phones whiledriving can be extremely dangerous and should be avoided. Other safetyawareness includes always wearing a seatbelt and increasing visibility in poordaylight and in darkness.In conclusion, Ithink that radical reduction of traffic accidents and significant improvementon road safety would depend on severe punishment for driving offences, raise ofminimum driving age, zero tolerance to drinking driving and the drivers’enhance of safety awareness. By those joined efforts, I believe the road safetywill be improved in the near future.【解析】对于公路车祸率居高不下的现象，有些人提出提高公路安全的唯一途径是加大惩罚力度的观点，针对这一观点，作者展开讨论。文章第一段开门见山表明立场，作者认为加大惩罚力度这唯一的途径是远远不够的。第二段作者指出加大惩罚力度的优势以及潜在的劣势，并提出还有许多其他的措施可行。第三段是作者提出的第一个措施，即提高最小驾驶年龄，论点是青少年驾驶难以掌控紧急情况。第四段是作者提出的第二个措施，即严格把控酒驾，论点是酒驾是所有车祸原因中的首位。第五段是作者提出的第三个措施，即驾驶要提高驾驶安全意识，如系好安全带，转弯时注意看周围有没有车等等。最后一段作者总结文章中提出的几大措施，认为只要这些多方面的工作都能做到位，公路安全一定会得到改善。