学位英语历年真题带答案12-11

成人本科学士学位英语统一考试

2012年11月03日

Part I Reading Comprehension (30%)

Directions: There are three passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or

unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You

should decide on the best choice and blacken the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.

Passage 1

Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage:

It seems like every day there’s some new research about whether our favorite drinks are good

for us. (76) One day, science says a glass of red wine a day will help us live longer. The next day,

maybe not. It seems journalists are pretty interested in wine research and the same might be said

for coffee. Now，there’s been a lot of research into whether coffee’s good for our health.“The

results have really been mixed，” admits Neal Freedman who led the coffee study and published

his findings in a medical journal recently. “There’s been some evidence that coffee might increase

the risk of certain diseases and there’s also been maybe more recent evidence that coffee may

protect against other diseases as well.”

Freedman and his colleagues undertook the biggest study yet to look at the relationship

between coffee and health. They analyzed data collected from more than 400,000 Americans ages

50 to 71 participating in the study. “We found that the coffee drinkers had a modestly lower risk

of death than the non-drinkers，”he said. Here’s what he means by“modestly”：those who drank

at least two or three cups a day were about 10 percent or 15 percent less likely to die for any

reason during the 13 years of the study. When the researchers looked at specific causes of death,

coffee drinking appeared to cut the risk of dying from heart disease, lung disease, injuries,

accidents and infections.

Now, Freedman stressed that the study doesn’t prove coffee can make people live longer. A

study like this can never prove a cause-and-effect relationship. (77) All it can really do is to point

researchers in the right direction for further investigation. And even if it turns out that coffee is

really good for you, scientists have no idea why.

1. According to the first paragraph, reporters would like to know the research findings of .

A. tea B. beer C. alcohol D. coffee

2. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A. Freedman and his colleagues hired 400,000 Americans to collect data.

B. About four hundred thousand Americans worked for Freedman’s team full time for 13 years.

C. People who took part in Freedman’s research are about 50 to 70 years old.

D. People who are 50 to 70 years old seldom drink coffee.

3. According to the author, scientists .

A. have already proved that coffee is good for human health

B. have a long way to go before they find a way to study coffee

C. have avoided the cause-and-effect approach to study coffee

D. are still unable to figure out why coffee is good for us

4. The word “mixed”in the first paragraph means “ ”.

A. both good and bad B. put together C. both sharp and soft D. confused

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5. Which of the following is an appropriate title for this passage?

A. Can Beer Help You Live Longer?

B. Can Coffee Help You Live Longer?

C. Can Wine Help You Live Longer?

D. Can Tea Help You Live Longer?

Passage 2

Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage:

When we’re learning a foreign language, making sense of what we hear is the first step

toward fluency. It sounds obvious, but until recently, we didn’t know much about how listening

works. New research demonstrates that effective listening involves more than simply hearing the

words that float past our ears. Rather, it’s an active process of receiving information and making

meaning. This kind of engaged listening is a skill that’s as critical for learning a range of subjects

at school and work as it is for learning to understand a foreign tongue.

(78) Studies of skilled language learners have identified specific listening strategies that lead

to superior comprehension. Last year, for example, University of Ottawa researcher Larry

Vandergrift published his study of 106 undergraduates who were learning French as a second

language. Half of the students were taught in a conventional fashion, listening to and practicing

texts spoken aloud. The other half, possessing the same initial (最初的) skill level and taught by

the same teacher, were given detailed instruction on how to listen. It mined out that the second

group “significantly outperformed”(胜过) the first one on a test of comprehension.

So what are these listening strategies? Skilled learners go into a listening class with a sense of

what they want to get out of it. (79) They set a goal for their listening and they generate

predictions about what the speaker will say. Before the talking begins, they mentally review what

they already know about the subject, and form an intention to “listen out for” what’s important or

relevant. Once they begin listening, these learners maintain their focus; if their attention wanders,

they bring it back to the words being spoken. They don’t allow themselves to be thrown off by

confusing or unfamiliar details. Instead, they take note of what they don’t understand and make

inferences about what those things might mean, based on other clues available to them: their

previous knowledge of the subject, the context (语境) of the talk,, the identity of the speaker, and

so on.

6. What is the main idea of this passage?

A. Effective listening means hearing the words that float past our ears.

B. Developing your listening skills is the first step toward developing fluency.

C. Skilled listeners use specific strategies to get the most out of what they hear.

D. Listening is one of the most powerful tools we have to gain information.

7. What does Vandergrift’s research show?

A. Learners who adopt specific listening strategies become better listeners.

B. Learners taught in the traditional way are better at reinforcing what they learn.

C. Learners are more confident if they make fewer mistakes.

D. Learners who listen on a regular basis improve faster.

8. Which of the following statements about Vandergrift’s research is TRUE?

A. The participants were postgraduates learning French as a second language.

B. All the participants were taught using the conventional method, with the focus on listening

strategies.

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C. The two groups were taught by different teachers.

D. The participants were at the same initial skill level.

9. The expression“thrown off” in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to“ ”.

A. infected B. confused C. ruined D. informed

10. According to the passage, which of the following strategies is NOT used by skilled learners?

A. Review their prior knowledge of the subject.

B. Concentrate on the speaker’s words.

C. Translate into their native language.

D. Predict what the speaker will say.

Passage 3

Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage:

(80) As the Titanic was sinking and women and children climbed into lifeboats, the

musicians from the ship’s band stood and played. They died when the ship went down. Men stood

on the deck and smoked cigarettes. They died, too. This behavior is puzzling to economists, who

like to believe that people tend to act in their own self interest. “There was no pushing,” says

David Savage, an economist at Queensland University in Australia who has studied witness

reports from the survivors. It was “very, very orderly behavior.”

Savage has compared the behavior of the passengers on the Titanic with those on the

Lusitania, another ship that also sank at about the same time. But when the Lusitania went down,

the passengers panicked(恐慌). There were a lot of similarities between these two events. These

two ships were both luxury ones, they had a similar number of passengers and a similar number of

survivors.

The biggest difference, Savage concludes, was time. The Lusitania sank in less than 20

minutes. But for the Titanic, it was two-and-a-half hours. “If you’ve got an event that lasts

two-and-a-half hours, social order will take over and everybody will behave in a social manner,”

Savage says.“If you’re going down in under 17 minutes, basically it’s instinctual.” On the Titanic,

social order ruled, and it was women and children first. On the Lusitania, instinct won out. The

survivors were largely the people who could swim and get into the lifeboats.

Yes, we’re self-interested, Savage says. But we’re also part of a society. Given time, social

norms (规范) can beat our natural self-interest. A hundred years ago, women and children always

went first. Men were stoic (坚忍的). On the Titanic, there was enough time for these norms to

become forceful.

11. According to the author, economists were confused because .

A. people’s behavior was disorderly on the Titanic

B. people did not act in their own interest on the Titanic

C. most men did not act in their own interest on the Lusitania

D. women and children could not climb into the lifeboats

12. The expression “won out” in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to“ ”.

A. took the upper hand B. went out of control C. ran wild D. shut down

13. According to David Savage, was a critical factor in determining people’s behavior in

the sinking of these two ships.

A. social order B. place C. instinct D. time

14. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT TRUE?

A. Both ships were expensive ones.

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B. A similar number of women and children from both ships survived.

C. About the same number of people from each ship died.

D. Both ships had a similar number of passengers.

15. Which of the following is an appropriate title for this passage?

A. Why Didn’t Musicians Play on the Lusitania?

B. Why Did Musicians Play on the Titanic?

C. Why Didn’t Passengers Panic on the Titanic?

D. Why Did Men Smoke on the Titanic?

Part Ⅱ Vocabulary and Structure (30%)

Directions: In this part there are 30 incomplete sentences. For each sentence there are four

choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the ONE answer that best completes the sentence. Then

blacken the Corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.

16. Have you ever visited the Summer Palace， there are many beautiful halls, ridges

and a huge lake?

A. which B. that C. where D. when

17. Mr. Obama will give a speech on the current situation at the meeting next week in

Beijing.

A. to hold B. held C. holding D. to be held

18. It was in a small village in the south he spent his childhood and met his life-long

friend—the local schoolmaster.

A. where B. when C. which D. that

19. First of all, a teacher should show love for his students on top of his academic

knowledge. , he is not qualified for his position.

A. Therefore B. Otherwise C. However D. Because

20. For many overseas Chinese, China is their real , because they were born and grew up there.

A. home B. family C. house D. household

21. With all your brains you the math test, but you failed. You were too careless.

A. should pass B. should have passed C. must pass D. must have passed

22. When he entered the room he found a cat quietly under the desk.

A. lie B. lies C. to lie D. lying

23. Today Mrs Smith _ herself in white like a nurse at the garden party.

A. wore B. put C. sent D. dressed

24. In road rules the red light is a _ for traffic to stop.

A. sign B. sight C. site D. size

25. I can you for your rude manners but you must apologize in public.

A. forbid B. forget C. forecast D. forgive

26. General Blair had been in the army for 35 years when he retired from the navy.

A. service B. work C. job D. homework

27. Linda is quite different her sister in character：she likes friends and goes out a lot while

her sister always stays alone at home.

A. to B. from C. at D. on

28. Jim was absent from school for the whole week a bad cold.

A. because of B. in addition to C. according to D. in front of

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