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Summary: Some companies believe that foreign-language ability plays an unimportant role in (51) , but it does help their employees become (52) into a foreign environment. IBM offers (53) to employees who need foreign language skills to do their job well. Because of the high cost and lack of necessity, corporations do not think training executives in a foreign language makes (54) and believe it may not generate (55) . Section C (10 marks) In this section, there is passage followed by five uncompleted sentences. Read the passage carefully, and then complete the sentences in a maximum of three words for each blank. Remember to write the answers on the answer sheet. Questions 56-60 are completed with the information given. Virgin Trains CarLink
Having trouble finding a fast, easy way to get to or from the train station? Stop worrying. Let Virgin Trains CarLink drive you.
If you’re travelling from the northwest of England, we’ll pick you up from your door, take you to the station and then meet you when you return.
Or if you’re coming to the northwest of England, we’ll meet you off the train, take you where you want to go to and then—when you’re ready—take you back to the station.
HOW it works
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How to book
To secure a CarLink journey you must book in advance:
?five days in advance of travel, if you book via the Virgin Train Line 0345 222 333.
?by 18:00 the day before travel, if you book in person at a station. 56. CarLink services operate in the . 57. For each one-way journey you need to give the driver plus the balance of the fare. 58. You will still be picked up at the station even if your train . 7 / 19
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59. Bear in mind that if things change, call CarLink to inform your . 60. To secure a CarLink journey you must book in advance by telephone or . Section D (10 marks)
In this section, there is one passage followed by five questions. Read the passage carefully, and then answer the questions in a maximum of ten words. Remember to write the answers on the answer sheet. Questions 61-65 are based on the following passage. Of all the many factors which contributed to the Industrial Revolution, the most revolutionary and the most impressive was not coal but steam power. J. L. and Barbara Hammond said that steam power “declared the triumph of industry and the glory of man”. From clumsy and inefficient beginnings it was quickly improved to open up tremendous possibilities for industrial progress. The limitations of muscle—power are obvious, and though water had served well to work bellows and hammers in iron works，or to turn machinery like the water-frame and the mule in the textile industry, it could only be applied in a limited way in Britain. For water power is most useful in a land with many fast-flowing streams and apart from areas like the Pennines, Scotland, and Wales, this country’s rivers flow slowly. The Alpine area of Europe, and much of the United States relied on water power for much longer than Britain, and hydroelectricity has brought water back into its own in many parts of the world. The geographical limitations of Britain’s water power, however, necessitated finding an alternative solution to the problem.
When water vaporizes it expands 1,800 times. The idea of harnessing this energy is far from new. It was probably used by Hero of Alexandria in the 1st century B.C. to open temple doors or to pour libations apparently by magic. Hero’s writings were rediscovered during the Renaissance and many people, including, for example, the Marquis of Worcester (1601-1667) experimented with devices using steam. Regretfully, therefore, we must dismiss the old myth that steam power was born in the mind of a bright Scots lad called James Watt as he sat one winter’s evening watching his mother’s kettle boil on the hearth. Watt’s contribution to steam is incalculable, but steam-pumps had been used in Britain for over seventy years before he began his work.
The first steam-engine used in industry was invented by Thomas Savery (1650-1715). Called “The Miners’ Friend or an engine to raise water by fire”, it was patented in 1698 and worked on simple principles. It pumped water from wells quite efficiently and was used successfully in Cornish copper-mines, but its limitations were revealed when it was tried in the Broadwater Collieries in Staffordshire in 1706 and was found to be capable of pumping water up no more than 100 feet. When greater pressure was used the boiler burst. Therefore, Savery’s engine was used to supply water in gentlemen’s houses or to work fountains—tasks it could perform effectively, though not quite safely as there was no pressure-gauge.
It was Thomas Newcomen (1663-1729), a Dartmouth blacksmith and ironmonger, who produced the first steam-pump to be used widely in industry. It was known as an “atmospheric engine” because, in contrast to Savery’s engine, the steam in the cylinder was not used to drive the pump but only to create a partial
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vacuum when condensed. Ordinary air pressure drove the piston into the cylinder and this raised the pump which was connected to the piston by a see-sawing cross-beam. A large piston meant that it was possible to gain more force without increasing steam pressure and this made Newcomen’s engine much more powerful than Savery’s.
The first engine was made about 1706 but it was a clumsy affair. The piston did not fit tightly into the cylinder and condensation，which was achieved by pouring cold water on the outside of the cylinder，was far from complete. Moreover，the tap controlling the passage of steam into the cylinder was worked by hand seven or eight times a minute. These difficulties were ironed out by 1720；water was now sprayed into the cylinder to improve condensation, the operation of the taps had been made automatic, and a safety-valve had been fitted to eliminate the danger of explosion.
The improved engine soon became standard equipment in most large mines，and it was also used to pump water into canals and to supply drinking-water in towns. It is difficult to know exactly how many were in use by the second half of the 18th century but in 1767 fifty-seven were found around Newcastle，and there were eighteen in Cornish mines in 1780. Questions:
61. Why could water power only be applied in a limited way in Britain? 62. Who was the first person mentioned in the text trying to use steam power? 63. Who invented the first steam engine used in industry? 64. How was Newcomen’s engine different from that of Savery’s? 65. What was installed to the first engine to prevent explosion?
Part Ⅳ Cloze (15 minutes, 15 marks)
Read the following passage and fill in each blank with one word. Choose the word in one of the following three ways: according to the context; using the correct form of the given word; according to the given letters of a word. Remember to write the answers on the answer sheet. There are many wedding traditions in the West. And some of them date back to several hundreds of years and most of their origins have their (66) r in ancient superstitious beliefs.
“Something old, new, borrowed and blue” is a popular bridal attire (盛装) rhyme. It dates from the Victorian times. Something old refers (67) wearing something that represents a link with the bride’s family and her (68) (precede) life. Usually, the bride wears a piece of family jewelry or maybe her mother’s or grandmother’s wedding dress. Wearing something new (69) (symbol) good fortune and success in the bride’s new life.
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The bride’s wedding dress is usually chosen, or purchased new, (70) b it can be any other new item of the bride’s wedding attire. Wearing something borrowed is meant to (71) b good luck to the marriage. It could be an item of bridal clothing, a handkerchief or an item of jewelry. Wearing something blue dates back to biblical times (72) the color blue was considered to represent purity and fidelity. The custom of the wedding veil is thought to (73) pre the wedding dress by centuries. One explanation for it is that during the times of arranged marriage, the bride’s face was covered until the groom was committed (74) her at the ceremony—so it would be too late for him to run off if he did not like the look of her! It is also thought that rite veal was worn to (75) pr the bride from evil spirits that would be floating around on her wedding day. This is why the veal covers the brides’ face throughout the ceremony until the minister (76) p the couple man and wife.
And traditionally a bride’s (77) (engage) ring and wedding ring are worn on the fourth finger of the left hand. (78) Th no precise evidence explains the origin of this tradition, one belief is strongly held to it. It (79) ori from the 17th century. During a wedding then, the priest arrived at the fourth finger (80) a touching the three fingers on the left hand “... in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost”.
Part Ⅴ Translation (15 minutes, 20 marks) Section A (10 marks)
Translate the underlined sentences of the following passage into Chinese. Remember to write the answers on the answer sheet. (81) For many women choosing whether to work or not to work outside their home is a luxury: they must work to survive. Others face a hard decision. Perhaps the easiest choice has to do with economics. One husband said, “Marge and I decided after careful consideration that for her to go back to work at this moment was an extravagance (奢侈 ) we couldn’t afford”. (82) With two preschool children, it soon became clear in their figuring that with babysitters, transportation, and increased taxes, rather than having more money, they might actually end up with less. Economic factors are usually the first to be considered, but they are not the most important. The most important aspects of the decision have to do with the emotional needs of each member of the family. (83) It is in this area that husbands and wives find themselves having to face many confusing and conflicting feelings. (84) There are many women who find that homemaking is boring or who feel imprisoned (被囚禁) if they have to stay home with a young child or several children. On the other hand, there are women who think that homemaking gives them the deepest satisfaction.
From my own experience, I would like to suggest that sometimes the decision to go back to is made in too much haste. There are few decisions that I now regret more. I wasn’t mature enough to see how much I could have gained at home. (85) I 10 / 19