模拟试题二
PART I GRAMMAR & VOCABULARY [60 MIN] (1×30=30 POINTS)
There are thirty sentences in this section. Beneath each sentence there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Please choose the correct answer that best completes the sentence and mark your answers on the answer sheet.
1.She had a strong ________to give a talk about her experiences, because she didn?t like the limelight.
A. disinclination B. dissolution C. dissidence D. dissension
2. The eye tends to see distance as ________. In painting, this is sometimes called “the vanishing point”.
A. conforming B. comforting C. contriving D. converging
3. The man went to prison, but the two boys ________with a warning. A. took off B. got off C. kept off D. set off
4. Although her initial success was _________ by the fact she was the daughter of a famous actor, the critics later acclaimed her as a star in her own right.
A. enhanced B. impeded C. refuted D. superseded
5. Perhaps we should think in terms of raising interest rates ______ them, in consideration of the
new reports about inflation reported last June.
A. then reducing B. and reduce C. although reduce D. rather than reducing 6. The symphony?s second movement—slow, mournful, and ________—is based on a funeral march.
A. frivolous B. effervescent C. vicissitude D. ephemeral
7. Few of us take the pains to study our cherished convictions; indeed, we almost have a natural ____doing so. A. aptitude for B. repugnance to C. ignorance of D. reaction to 8. If you wait for the ____moment to act, you may have never begun your project.
A. definitive B. optimum C. implacable D. righteous 9. My reading in later life has supplied me with some possible explanations of his____.
A. temperature B. temperament C. temptation D. temperance 10.________ghost exists in the world. That?s your illusion. A. No such a thing as B. No such a thing as a C. No such thing as a D. No such thing as 11. I didn?t like myself ________in that way. A. to be praised B. praised
C. be praised D. to have been praised
12. ________an answer, they decided to send an express telegram to them. A. Received not B. Having received not C. Not having received D. Not received
13. During a war, many of the normal basic rights of the individual are in the national interest.
A. disregarded B. infringed
C. suspended D. stamped
14.The of social security benefits often feel that they are contributing more than they in fact receive in terms of medical care, pensions, etc. A. receipts B. receivers C. recipients D. payees
15. Many diseases that used to be considered _________ of mankind are now easily treatable with antibiotics
A. scourges B. blights C. tortures D. thorns
16. Some historians believe that John Jay could have played in America?s history as
James Madison.
A. as an important role B. as important a role C. an important role as D. a role as important
17. Cynics believe that people who compliments do so in order to be praised twice. A. bask in B. give out C. gloat over D. shrug off
18.Technically, negotiation occurs between people who are interdependent, ___________that the actions of one party affect those of the other party and vice versa. A. as means B. to mean
C. that means D. meaning
19. The Chairman was evidently ____________by Jim?s words and glared at him for a few
seconds.
A. put down B. put across C. put away D. put out
20. The local authorities realized the need to make ____________for elderly people in their
housing programs.
A. provision B. preparation C. requirement D. specification 21. He was so in the TV program that he forgot to turn the oven off. A. tarnished B. revamped C. engrossed D. bequeathed 22. Penny?s speech given at the state competition won her the first prize. A. promptitude B. impromptu C. prorate D. natant
23. Overall, it is going to become much easier for people to communicate __________the Net Communicating with others in real time will soon be the norm. A. by B. in C. over D. onto
24. I had never seen so many people with so many disabilities. I returned home, silently __________, thinking how fortunate we really were. .
A. retrospective B. introspective C. perspective D. prospective
25. The Japanese dollar-buying makes traders eager to __________ dollars in fear of another government intervention.
A. let in B. let out C. let go of D. let off
26. The Supreme Court?s decisions on physician-assisted suicide carry important for how medicine seeks to relieve dying patients of pain and suffering. .
A. implications B. complications C. innovations D, complexities
27.As a rule, what?s efficient in one place will be efficient in most other places, thus American businesses are fierce competitors they choose to sell their product, having been formed in a competitive environment that breeds optimality.
A. whatever B. whenever C. wherever D. however
28. Allowing our cities to be by cars has progressively affected children?s independent
mobility, for children have lost much of their freedom to explore their own neighborhood or city.
A. pervaded B. diffused C. dominated D. intervened
29. When the young man realized that the police had spotted him, he made the exit as quickly as possible, only to find that two policemen were waiting outside. A. off B. from C. towards D. for
30. Generous public funding of basic science would considerable benefits for the country?s health, wealth and security.
A. result from B. settle down C. lie in D. lead to
PART II READING COMPREHENSION [60 MIN] (40 POINTS)
Passage One
The Roman language served as the first model for answering the question. Even to someone with no knowledge of Latin, the similarities among Roman languages would have made it natural to suggest that they were derived from a common ancestor. On the assumption that the shared characteristic of these languages came from the common ancestor, it would have been possible to reconstruct many of the characteristics of the original common language. In much the same way it became clear that the branches of the Indo-European family could be studied and a hypothetical family tree constructed, reading back to a common ancestor. This is the tree approach. The basic process represented by the tree model is one of divergence: when languages become isolated from one another, they differ increasingly, and dialects gradually become different until they become separate languages.
Divergence is by no means the only possible tendency in language evolution. Johannes Schmidt introduced a “wave” model, in which linguistic changes were like waves, eventually leading to convergence; that is, growing similarity among languages that were initially quite different.
Today, however, most linguists think primarily in terms of family trees. It is necessary to construct some models of how language change might occur according to a process-based view. There are four main classes of models.
The first is the process of initial colonization, by which an uninhabited territory becomes populated; its language naturally becomes that of the colonizers. Second are processes of divergence, such as the linguistic divergence arising from separation or isolation mentioned above in relation to early models of the Indo-European languages. The third group of models is based on processes of linguistic convergence. The wave model, formulated by Schmidt in the 1870?s, is an example, but convergence methods have not generally found favor among linguists.
Now, the slow and rather static operation of these processes is complicated by another factor: linguistic replacement. That factor provides the basis for a fourth class of models, in many areas of the world the languages initially spoken by the indigenous people have come to be replaced, fully or partially, by languages spoken by people coming from outside. Were it not for this large complicating factor, the world?s linguistic history could be faithfully described by the initial distribution of Homo Sapiens, followed by the gradual workings of divergence and convergence. So linguistic replacement also has a key role to play in explaining the origins of the Indo-European languages.
31. The characteristics of the original common language can be described on the basis
of . A. the similarities among Romance languages B. the hypothetical family tree
C. the process known as divergence
D. the common features of Roman languages 32. According to Johannes Schmidt, . A. languages change on a large scale like waves
B. divergence is not the only possible tendency in language change
C. language evolution can be explained in terms of divergence and convergence
D. different languages will become increasingly similar until they develop into one language 33. It can be inferred from paragraph 4 that . A. there doesn?t exist any satisfactory model of language change
B. most linguists explain language change only in terms of divergence C. most linguists generally don?t accept the idea of language convergence
D. the first process in language evolution is colonization, followed by divergence 34. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Linguistic replacement can be ignored for the linguistic history to be fully described.
B. Linguistic replacement cannot be ignored in explaining where the Indo-European
languages come from
C. Because of linguistic replacement, the other three models prove to be incorrect
D. Compared with the other models, linguistic replacement is the most important model 35. This passage is primarily written to .
A. discuss the importance of linguistic replacement B. introduce the origin of the indo-European language C. explain the divergence of the Indo-European languages
D. introduce models concerning the origin of the indo-European languages
Passage Two
Of all the catastrophes that could befall America in coming years, a big terrorist attack, perhaps even bigger than those on September 11th 2001, may be more likely than others. Who would pay for the millions in property damage, business losses and other claims from such an attack?
This is the question with which America?s Congress is currently wrestling. The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) was passed as a temporary measure after September 11th to provide a government back-stop for the insurance industry in the event of a catastrophic attack. It now says government can step in when insured losses from a terrorist event top $5m. TRIA has helped to stabilize the market, and enabled insurers to continue offering terrorism-risk cover even after swallowing the big losses imposed by September 11th. But unless Congress acts fast, TRIA will expire at the end of the year. One likely result is the loss of terrorism-risk cover for thousands of firms and property owners. This, in turn, could disrupt businesses and make some commercial activity impossible. With modifications, TRIA should be extended.
The Bush administration has been opposed to extension. It has always seen TRIA as a short-term measure, and has argued that the private sector should assume sole responsibility for terrorism insurance. This is the right goal. A purely private solution would be best, lifting any
future burden from the taxpayer and relying on the industry to price and spread risks more accurately than any government can do. But relying entirely on the private sector immediately does not look feasible. With TRIA?s expiration looming, insurers and reinsurers have not, as the administration expected, rushed to write new contracts for next year offering to fall gaps in terrorism cover.
Why the hesitation? Unlike other risks, the threat of terrorism cannot be forecast in time or scope, making a mockery of insurers? underwriting models. A big chemical, biological or nuclear attack is a prospect few can price, or afford to cover. Insurers are already being threatened with downgrades by rating agencies for the terrorism cover they have sold.
One reason is that insurance, far from being a free market, is already one of the most heavily regulated of industries. Operating in a highly distorted marketplace, with 50 state regulators, the insurance industry seems to be having trouble pricing the largest of terrorism risks in a way that is credible and can still offer insurers a profit. Letting TRIA expire, and abruptly withdrawing the government role in insuring the largest losses, would just exacerbate this problem.
Any renewal of TRIA should, once again, be limited to two years, say. Its extension must also shift more of the burden，and the business，to the private sector. If an extension is agreed and TRIA?s threshold for government intervention is raised substantially, work should begin now to find better longer—term solutions. One place to look is abroad, where governments have dealt with terrorism risk for years. In Britain, for instance, insurers have created a pool of capital that is backed by the government and, over time, shifts a greater share of risk on to the private sector. Other options to consider include tax changes that reduce the cost of holding capital by insurers and reinsurers, and facilitating the use of catastrophe bonds.
With fewer regulatory distortions of insurance markets, a solely private solution may be attainable in the long run. In the current environment, though, the same government that regularly warns of terrorist threats must still have a role to play in a solution that safeguards America?s financial security. It would be better to plan ahead than wait for a rushed, Katrina-style bail-out after a big attack. Amid all the uncertainties, one thing seems clear: any such bail-out would be more costly and lead to even greater market distortions without an extension of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act today. 36. TRIA ____.
A. provides insurance to properties in high-risk areas B. should be extended as it is now
C. requires government support to risk insurance
D. has caused a substantial loss of revenue to the state
37. The private sector is hesitant in taking sole responsibility for terrorism insurance
because______.
A. their current pricing models cannot estimate terrorism attacks properly B. they do not often insure things they cannot forecast C. they are threatened by loss of other insurance takers
D. they do not have regulator-approved contracts that cover terrorism attacks 38. The extension of TRIA should aim at_____.
A. making government intervention more unacceptable B. introducing foreign companies into terrorism insurance
C. setting up catastrophe bonds managed by insurers and reinsurers