上海市英語高級口譯資格證書第一階段考試2002年9月

(Test Book)

SECTION 1: LISTENING TEST

(30 MINUTES)

 

Part A: Spot Dictation

Direction: In this part of the test, you will hear a passage and read the same passage with blanks in it. Fill in each of the blanks with the words you have heard on the tape. Write your answer in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET. Remember you will hear the passage ONLY ONCE.

 

      Research shows that we make up our minds about people through unspoken communication within seven seconds of meeting them. __________(1), we show our true feelings with our eyes, faces, bodies and attitudes, causing a chain of reactions, ranging __________(2).

       Think about some of your most unforgettable meetings: an introduction to __________(3), a job interview, and an encounter with a stranger. Focus on the first seven seconds. What did you __________(4)? How did you “read” the other person? How do you think he reads you?

       __________(5). For 25 years I’ve worked with thousands who want to be successful. I’ve helped them __________(6), answer unfriendly questions, communicate more effectively. __________(7) has always been you are the message.

       Others will want to be with you and help you if you use __________(8). They include: physical appearance, energy, __________(9), pitch and tone of voice, gestures, expressions through eyes, and the ability to __________(10). Others form an impression about you based on these.

       Think of times when you know you __________(11). What made you successful? Were you __________(12) what you were talking about and so absorbed in the moment that you __________(13)?

       Be yourself. Many how-to books advise you to __________(14) and impress others with your qualities. They instruct you to greet them with __________(15) and tell you to fix your eyes on the other person. If you follow all this advice, it is most likely, that you’ll __________(16)—including yourself.

       The trick is to __________(17), at your best. The most effective people never change from one situation to another. They’re the same whether they’re addressing their garden club, __________(18), or being interviewed for a job. They communicate __________(19); the tones of their voices and their gestures __________(20).

 

Part B: Listening Comprehension

Directions: In this part of the test there will be some short talks and conversations. After each one, you will be asked some questions. The talks, conversations and questions will be spoken ONLY ONCE. Now listen carefully and choose the right answer to each question you have heard and write the letter of the answer you have chosen in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET.

 

Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following conversation.

1.   (A) It is required by the course he is taking.

      (B) He is promoting a product through advertising.

      (C) He is applying for a scholarship at a university.

      (D) It is part of the selection process for a job.

 

2.   (A) How to become a successful job applicant.

      (B) How to prepare for a good speech.

      (C) How to make a good impression on the interviewer.

      (D) It has not been decided yet.

 

3.   (A) 20 minutes.

      (B) 30 minutes.

      (C) An hour.

      (D) It’s not mentioned in the conversation.

 

4.   (A) To use the overhead projector.

      (B) To read clearly and loud enough from a script.

      (C) To illustrate his points with anecdotes or analogies.

      (D) To say something amusing or striking at the very start.

 

5.   (A) To listen to him rehearse the talk.

      (B) To help him collect the required statistics.

      (C) To analyze the data already available.

      (D) To write a script for the talk.

 

Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following conversations.

6.   (A) It will cut its peace-keeping forces in some parts of Europe.

      (B) It will maintain its military presence in Bosnia and Kosovo.

      (C) It will cease its arms control talks with Russia.

      (D) It will have several eastern European countries as its full members.

 

7.   (A) Germany.

      (B) France.

      (C) Hungary.

      (D) The Czech Republic.

 

8.   (A) Three.

      (B) Ten.

      (C) Fourteen.

      (D) Thirty.

 

9.   (A) Australians’ personal debts hit an all-time low currently.

      (B) Australians face financial difficulties which might hinder economic growth.

      (C) The unemployment figures have been on the rise for the thirteenth month.

      (D) The record high interest rates start to threaten a booming housing market.

 

10.  (A) Because this was the first visit of the kind in the past four decades.

      (B) Because this visit had not been announced before these people actually arrived.

      (C) Because a denial of such a visit had been reported widely in the press.

      (D) Because government-level talks between the two sides had been recently cancelled.

 

Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following interview.

11.  (A) Steel production in the third world.

      (B) Economics about the developed countries.

      (C) Grain trade in northern Europe.

      (D) Cereal production in tropical areas.

 

12.  (A) To experience a flood disaster at first hand.

      (B) To study grain trade.

      (C) To make a lecture tour.

      (D) To attend an international conference on grain production.

 

13.  (A) She took ferries.

      (B) She had to hire a boat from the locals.

      (C) She walked without any shoes.

      (D) She managed to drive a van.

 

14.  (A) Snake bites.

      (B) Big black ants.

      (C) Worms fleeing from the floods.

      (D) A fatal epidemic disease.

 

15.  (A) The government organized relief in conjunction with international charities.

      (B) The government brought down grain prices by selling its stock on the open market.

      (C) The merchants managed to keep their stock of grain safe from the flood water.

      (D) The merchants pushed up grain prices twice as much in some areas.

 

Questions 16 to are based on the following talk.

16.  (A) “Young Entrepreneur”.

      (B) “Business Matters”.

      (C) “Successful Enterprise”.

      (D) “Talented Businessman”.

 

17.  (A) Local business people.

      (B) Self-employed people.

      (C) People aged 18-25.

      (D) Successful people of any kind.

 

18.  (A) It must be typed on one side of paper only.

      (B) It must be no longer than 350 words.

      (C) It must have a person’s signature.

      (D) It must be accompanied by a charity donation.

 

19.  (A) Six.

      (B) Ten.

      (C) Three hundred.

      (D) Three hundred and fifty.

 

20.  (A) Three weeks from now.

      (B) Two months after this announcement.

      (C) June the fifteenth.

      (D) The second weekend in July.

 

SECTIONS 2: READING TEST

(30 minutes)

 

Directions: In this section you will read several passages. Each one is followed by several questions about it. You are to choose ONE best answer, (A), (B), (C) or (D), to each question. Answer all the questions following each passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in that passage and write the letter of the answer you have chosen in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET.

 

Questions 1~5

       When it comes to editorial cartooning, maintaining a special brand of slightly quarrelsome humor ranks right up there with being politically savvy. For the Monitor’s Clay Bennett—who can now add the words Pulitzer winner to his credentials—that blend of wit and wisdom was honed around the dinner table while he was growing up in the South. It was there that his two older sisters would take on his father—a career Army officer and well-informed conservative. Mr. Bennett had known since age 4 that he wanted to be a cartoonist, but it wasn’t until he was 13, and had spent some time around that table, that he decided on editorial cartoons. On Monday he won journalism’s top honor, becoming the seventh Monitor staff member to do so since 1950, the first since David Rohde’s 1996 award for international reporting for his investigation of mass executions in Bosnia.

       Eight of the 14 awards given by Columbia University this year focused on the Sept. 11 attacks and their aftermath, with The New York Times winning a record seven Pulitzers—including those for public service, international reporting, and commentary. Previously, the most any paper had won at once was three. The Wall Street Journal was honored for its breaking-news reporting. The paper continued to publish even after the attack on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 forced it out of its offices. The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times each took two prizes, and Newsday and the Monitor each won one.

       According to jurors who decided the cartoon finalists (the winners are determined by the Pulitzer Board), the number of cartoon submissions was up by about 25 percent this year. Bennett’s cartoons, about everything from science to privacy, stood out for their European style—largely captionless—and their execution. Monitor editor Paul Van Slambrouck says of Bennett: “This man is obsessed, in a good way, with his work. This award is so richly deserved because he cares so much about what he does.” For Bennett, his decision on which cartoons to submit changed after Sept. 11, with 12 of the 20 submissions created after the attacks. “When you get to the end of 2001,” he says, “cartoons on tax cuts and political wranglings in Washington seem fairly insignificant.”

       Still, he says, not every issue he tackles has great gravity to it. To him, humor is something that can be used to win people over to a certain point of view—it sneaks up on them, and while making them laugh, also makes sure the message stays with them. He calls it “bringing it in through the back door.” Bennett started out as an editorial cartoonist for his college paper at the University of North Alabama, eventually working for The St Petersburg Times for 13 years and as a syndicated cartoonist before joining the Monitor. His cartooning style has changed little over the years, but he says technology—specifically the computer—had given him more control. “It made me a better artist.” Last year, he was named Editorial Cartoonist of the Year by Editor & Publisher magazine. This year, Bennett has won two other industry honors, the John Fischetti Award and a Sigma Delta Chi award from the Society of Professional Journalists, which he also found out about on Monday.

       In the weeks before the Pulitzer Prizes were announced, he struggled to keep his mind on his work. As in the previous three years when he’d been a finalist, Bennett knew in advance that he was on the short list. Though Bennett says he is by now skilled at putting thoughts of winning out of his head, sometimes the anticipation would prove to be too much for the 22-year veteran, and he would let off steam in a way that his family now affectionately refers to as “Pulitzer tension.”

       When word came that the prize was finally his, he praised the paper that hired him in 1998, at a time when he had thought about giving up on the profession he’d pursued since he was a teen. “It’s been a really good run ever since I’ve been at the Monitor,” he said. “All good things have happened to me since coming here.” In his victory speech, Bennett jokingly expressed but one regret about his employer: “I finally win it, and I’m at a paper that doesn’t drink champagne!”

 

1.   It can be concluded from the passage that the Wall Street Journal _________.

      (A) had won the most of the Pulitzer Prizes

      (B) had its offices in the World Trade Center

      (C) had employed Bennett before 1998

      (D) had stopped publication after the attack on the World Trade Center

2    According to the passage, the Pulitzer Prizes ________.

      (A) are sponsored by Columbia University

      (B) are awarded every year

      (C) are determined by a group of journalists

      (D) are based on other awards

3.   The sentence “Bennett knew in advance that he was on the short list.” (para. 5) can be interpreted as which of the following?

      (A) Bennett knew later that he would miss the prize again.

      (B) Bennett guessed from some source that he would definitely win this prize.

      (C) Bennett knew that the Pulitzer Prize was not what he wanted.

      (D) Bennett realized beforehand that he entered the group of finalists.

4.   We can know from the passage that all of the following is true about Bennett EXCEPT that ________.

      (A) he had been through trouble before he started to work for the Monitor

      (B) he has been changing his cartooning style with the help of computer

      (C) he timely changed the cartoons submitted to the Pulizer Awards

      (D) he had been nominated for the award for a number of times before

5.   In the passage, Bennet’s family used the expression “Pulitzer tension” to show his _____.

      (A) anxiety over winning the award

      (B) gratitude for the newspaper that hired him

      (C) regret about his employer’s policy

      (D) dissatisfaction with his new job

 

Questions 6~10

       Bill Gates is not the only American entrepreneur with a business plan to save the world. There are thousands. Consider Steve Kirsch, who had just turned 35 when he concluded he had every thing he could want. Adobe, the software giant, had just purchased one of his startups, Eframe. The sale made Kirsch very rich, with a share in a private jet, an estate in California’s Los Altos Hills and a burning question: what to do with the rest of a $50 million fortune? After a few years of doling out money to traditional charities—his alma mater, the United Way—Kirsch got ambitious. He set up his own foundation to benefit “everyone,” funding research on everything from cancer to near-earth objects. “It is guaranteed that we will be hit by an asteroid sometime in the future,” perhaps “before we end this phone conversation,” Kirsch explains. “It would cost several billion lives, and we can save those lives for $50 million, which is less than the cost of a private jet. I call it enlightened self-interest.”

       American philanthropy isn’t what it used to be. Gone are the days when old money was doled out by bureaucrats from mahogany-paneled rooms. More people are giving out more money than ever before, at much younger ages, and to a much wider variety of causes. In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan’s call for private charity to replace government largesse was greeted with hoots of liberal derision—and an outbreak of giving. The number of private foundations rose from 22,000 in 1980 to 55,000 today. They now dole out about $23.3 billion a year, a 700 percent increase since 1980. And many are the offspring of capitalists, who bring the language of business to charity. Vanessa Kirsch, president and founder of the entrepreneurial charity New Profit Inc., says, “There’s this new breed of social entrepreneurs coming out of Harvard Business School or failed dot-coms, and they’re saying, “I want to make big things happen.’”

       Their outlook is increasingly global, in the Gates mold, The share of funding that the 1,000 largest foundations devote to international causes jumped from 11.3 percent in 1999 to 16.3 percent in 2000. And while the U.S. government is often criticized for stingy foreign aid (well under 1 percent of GNP each year), the same can’t be said of private donors, who now give away 2.1 percent of U.S. GNP each year. “No nation comes even remotely close to the U.S. on these things,” says Scott Walker of the Philanthropy Roundtable. “If you’re in Sweden or France, it’s something the government is supposed to do. If you were in England, it is the nobility. Americans don’t think it’s enough to say, ‘ I gave at the office with taxes.’”

       To be sure, business and philanthropy are old bedfellows in the United States. The Rockefellers, the Carnegies and the Fords set the mold. But many were what Mark Dowie, author of “American Foundations: An Investigative History,” calls “s.o.b.s”—patrons of “symphonies, operas, ballets,” and “museums and hospitals where rich people go to die.” The new foundations are more like “quasi-public trusts—where rich people go to die.” The new foundations are more like “quasi-public trusts—progressive institutions of change,” argues Dowie.

       The new movers and shakers of American charity are more likely to be flashy TV titans like Ted Turner. The story of how Turner gave away a billion is a founding legend of this class. In a cab on his way to make a speech at the United Nations, the cable titan, sick of official U.S. reluctance to pay U.N. dues, decided to pony up $ 1 billion himself. This shamed Washington and inspired imitators. “It is a lot more personality-oriented in this culture of new wealth.” Says Ellen Dadisman, vice president of the Council on Foundations. “It’s sort of like wealth meets People magazine.”

       In Silicon Valley, the new fashion is called “venture philanthropy.” According to one survey, 83 percent of valley households give to charity, compared with 69 percent nationally. But they prefer to “invest,” not “give.” And to attract “investors,” fundraisers promise hands-on management of the nonprofits they support. They demand seats on the board, set performance goals and plan an exit strategy in case expectations aren’t met. “Traditionally, foundations have not been as invasive,” says Dadisman. “They didn’t go to the nonprofit and day, ‘How much are you paying for rent? Why are you using these old-fashioned computers?’” It may be invasive, but if it works it could help save the world. Even from asteroids.

 

6.   Why does the author introduce some American millionaires at the beginning of the passage?

      (A) To introduce the rapid growth of American millionaires.

      (B) To show how they become millionaires.

      (C) To display the relationship between business and philanthropy.

      (D) To explain their changing attitude towards charities.

7.   The author mentions Ronald Reagan’s call for private charity to replace government largesse as ___________.

      (A) Ronald Reagan was the then American President

      (B) his call was severely criticized by the public

      (C) Ronald Reagan first understood the significance of private foundations

      (D) his call received mixed responses but pointed the way for philanthropy

8.   The expression “who bring the language of business to charity” from the sentence “And many are the offspring of capitalists, who bring the language of business of charity.” (para.2) means ________.

      (A) who run charities in the same way as they run businesses

      (B) who uphold the principles of business in managing charities

      (C) who manage the money they send to charities

      (D) who think philanthropists should receive training

9.   Which of the following can be concluded from Scott Walker’s comment (para.3)?

      (A) Charities in European countries are run by the governmental department.

      (B) America should earnestly learn the practice of charity from France and Sweden.

      (C) European countries should learn from American charity.

      (D) The concept of American charity is different from that of European ones.

10.  Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

      (A) Charities will become profitable businesses in the future.

      (B) More people in Silicon Valley give money to charity.

      (C) Management of charities is required to undergo changes.

      (D) Foundations are beginning to check how the charities are running.

 

Questions 11~15

       With 22 years on the job, Jackie Bracey could be considered a career employee of the Internal Revenue Service. But she defies any stereotype of an over-eager agent running down a reluctant taxpayer. Instead, she spends her time defending people who owe the government money. Ms. Bracey, based in Greensboro N.C., is a taxpayer advocate, a role created by Congress in 1998 as part of the kinder, gentler theme adopted by the tax-collection agency. Bracey and advocates at 73 other offices nationwide, backed by 2,100 field workers and staff, go to bat for taxpayers who are in financial straits because of something the agency has done or is about to do.

       Though it may seem counterintuitive for the IRS, the advocate service not only helps taxpayers, but identifies procedural problems that, once unsnarled, could help streamline the agency. The main goal, though, is for the ombudsman to step into a dispute a taxpayer is having with the IRS when it appears that something the IRS is doing, or planning, would create an undue hardship on the taxpayer. This can range from speeding up resolution of a dispute that has dragged on too long, to demanding that the IRS halt a collection action if the taxpayer can show he or she “is suffering or is about to suffer a significant hardship.”

       “We look for all the possibilities we can to help somebody,” says Bracey. When it comes to her attention that someone is backed against a wall—say, a taxpayer faces eviction because he can’t pay rent since the IRS has levied his paycheck, the advocate can call a halt to the collection process. The advocate isn’t saying that the money isn’t owed, only that collecting it would impose a hardship. Bracey says she doesn’t like to think that people might have a car repossessed and lose their ability to get to work because they can’t make payments that have been redirected to the IRS.

       Besides trying to halt economic hardships, taxpayer advocates also deal with cases of procedural hardship. This can happen when the IRS doesn’t do something it said it would do, or doesn’t do it in a timely fashion. Bracey, for instance, says that at this time of the year, her office fields inquiries about speeding up refunds for people who flied paper returns and need the money.

       Taxpayer ombudsmen have been around in one form or another since 1979, says Nina Olson, the national taxpayer advocate. But they were given much more clout in 1998 when Congress decided that the workers would no longer report to regional directors but to her office. While this gave them a great deal more authority, outside watchdogs say more can be done. “There is a long way to go to get an agency that feels independent and emboldened” to work for taxpayers, says Joe Sepp, a vice president of the Washington-based tax-advocacy group. While Mr. Sepp applauds the service for removing management oversight of advocates from local tax officials, he says more advocates should be drawn from outside the IRS, bringing an independent viewpoint with them.

       The taxpayers union also has complained that Congress and the Bush administration don’t seem to be taking the advocates seriously enough. Each year, the IRS group reports to Congress on the top problems that advocates see. Many of these are systemic problems that can gum up the works for both taxpayer and collector, such as a December notice from Ms. Olson that the IRS should have just one definition of a dependent child, rather than the three definitions currently used. While taxpayer advocates can help smooth things out in many cases, they cannot ignore laws. This seems to be a particular problem with Earned Income Tax Credits, which people frequently are not able to claim because they don’t file tax returns on a timely basis.

       If taxpayers haven’t made legitimate claims for credits, there’s nothing the advocate can do to reverse that course. And Olson says that while taxpayers are free to use her service, they should keep in mind that it does not replace the normal appeals process and should be the last place a citizen calls upon for help, not the first. “We’re really there for when the processes fall down,” she says. Every state has at least one taxpayer-advocate service office. Look in the telephone book blue pages for their phone numbers and addresses, or call 877-777-4778 to find the nearest office. The IRS website, www.irs.gov, also has information on the service.

11.  According to the passage, the main task of tax advocates is _______.

      (A) to chase and collect tax from reluctant taxpayers

      (B) to cooperate with field workers and support staff

      (C) to help taxpayers and find problems in IRS work

      (D) to negotiate with National Taxpayers Union

12.  The advocate service “may seem counterintuitive for the IRS” (para. 2) as ______.

      (A) it works for the National Taxpayers Union

      (B) it often finds faults with their own work

      (C) it speeds up a collection action

      (D) it always criticizes IRS on behalf of taxpayers

13.  The word “clout” in the sentence “But they were given much more clout in 1998 when Congress decided that the workers would no longer report to regional directors but to her office.” (para. 5) can best be replaced by ________.

      (A) power

      (B) strength

      (C) capacity

      (D) ability

14.  The phrase “gum up the works” in the sentence “Many of these are systemic problems that can gum up the works for both taxpayers and collector,” (para. 6) can be paraphrased as ________.

      (A) impair the benefits

      (B) bring about solutions

      (C) lead to trouble

      (D) improve the relations

15.  When Olson says “We’re really there for when the processes fall down,” (para. 7) she means that _______.

      (A) they will provide help whenever taxpayers make claims

      (B) they will get involved in the normal appeals process

      (C) they will offer counseling when citizen calls

      (D) they will give help when procedural problems occur

 

Questions 16~20

       A friend who had lived in New York in the 1970s was recently here for a brief visit. I asked him what, in this ever-changing city, he found to be most startlingly changed. He thought for a minute before answering. “Probably the visible increase in prostitution,” he replies. My astonishment at this comment was so palpable that he felt obliged to explain. “Haven’t you noticed,” he asked with surprise, “all these young women standing furtively in doorways? You never used to see that when I was here.”

       I couldn’t resist my laughter. “They’re not prostitutes, They’re smokers.” For indeed they are. More American office buildings no longer allow smoking on the premises, driving those who can’t resist the urge onto the streets. The sight of them, lounging on “coffee breaks” near the entrances to their workplace, puffing away, has become ubiquitous. Since most new smokers apparently are women, my friend’s confusion was understandable. And there are more than ever since September II.

       Stress is probably better measured anecdotally than statistically. I’m not aware of surveys on this matter, but anyone living in New York these days has stories of friends who, amid the scares of 9-11 and its aftermath, have sought solace in cigarettes. I used to go to a gym near Grand Central Terminal. Some days so many people stood outside, tensely smoking, that I assumed an evacuation had just been ordered. At least three friends who’d given up tobacco have lapsed back into the habit, claiming they couldn’t calm their nerves. Others have increased their previously reduced intakes. Some, in their quest for a crutch, have begun smoking for the first time. In Manhattan the frantic puff has become the preferred alternative to the silent scream.

       New Yorkers, of course, are coping in more imaginative ways, as well. A friend swears he knows someone who has stashed a canoe in his closet in case he needs to escape Manhattans by river. Another says he has moved a heavy objet d’art into his office so that he can smash the window if a firebomb makes the elevator or the stairs impassable. A woman working on one of the lower floors of her office building has acquired a rope long enough to lower herself to the ground; one who works at the top of a skyscraper tells me she’s looking into the purchase of a parachute. Still others have stocked up on such items of antiterrorist chic as flame-retardant ponchos, anthrax-antidote antibiotics and heavy-duty gas masks.

       Crackpot friends of friends, but surely not your own? Hardly. One close acquaintance, concerned about my welfare as an international civil servant, tells me I should not be going to work at the United Nations without ensuring that I have, in my desk drawer, a flashlight, spare batteries, a clean cloth and water to dampen it with, all to facilitate an efficient exit through smoke and darkness. Though touched by her solicitude, I have not yet taken her advice. But I believe her when she tells me that many others have, especially her female friends.

       Recent polls indicate that American women are, in fact, more stressed out than men. Over 50 percent in one national survey of 1,000 adults admitted to being “very” or “somewhat” worried in the wake of the terrorist assaults, according to the Pew Research Center. The anthrax scare may have receded. But recent incidents, from the airplane crash in the New York borough of Queens to the arrest of the London “shoe-bomber” to rumors of suitcase nukes, seem to have had permanently unsettling effects. Take food. A surprising number of people are apparently unable to touch their plates. (Some happily, discovering that fear is the best diet.) Others are eating too much, seeking reassurance in “comfort food.” Give the alternatives, smoking seems a reasonable refuge; after all, the long-term threat of cancer seems far more remote these days than the prospect of explosive incineration.

       And let us not forget other obsessive coping behaviors. A surge in compulsive shopping, drink and self medicating has been reported, along with exercising, buying music and movie-going. I haven’t checked the stock prices for Philip Morris recently, but I’m told it’s doing better than expected. As people deal with their fears, the newspapers tell us the economy is bouncing back. Could ordinary people’s coping mechanisms be helping spur a national recovery that, in the first weeks after September 11, had seemed a distant prospect? Few things could be more American than giving in to your weaknesses--and finding that makes the country stronger.

16.  The word “ubiquitous” in the sentence “The sight of them, lounging on ‘coffee breaks’ near the entrances to their workplace puffing away, has become ubiquitous” (para. 2) can best be replaced by _______.

      (A) noticeable all the time

      (B) present everywhere

      (C) unique in nature

      (D) unpleasant to all visitors

17.  In the sentence “New Yorkers, of course, are coping in more imaginative ways, as well.”, the author mainly means _______.

      (A) New Yorkers are full of imagination before terrorists

      (B) New Yorkers are steadily confronting disasters

      (C) New Yorkers are ready to combat all kinds of threats

      (D) New Yorkers are ingeniously prepared for possible threats

18.  Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

      (A) American men are as stressed out as women before terrorist attacks.

      (B) The stock prices for Philip Morris must be on the rise.

      (C) The Coping behaviors under stress are widely varied and different.

      (D) Smoking is considered a useful means to reduce stress.

19.  In writing the last sentence “Few things could be more American than giving in to your weaknesses--and finding that makes the country stronger.”, the author _______.

      (A) reaches the conclusion of the passage

      (B) tells her sincere and real thought

      (C) adopts a satirical and paradoxical tone

      (D) criticizes American weaknesses

20.  Which of the following best expresses the main point of the passage?

      (A) Changing smoking habits over the past decades

      (B) Fight-flight mechanism in front of terrorism

      (C) Compulsive response to long-term diseases

      (D) Distracted behaviors under stress from terrorism

 

SECTION 3: TRANSLATION TEST

(30 MINUTES)

 

Direction: Translate the following passage into Chinese and write your version in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET.

 

       After nearly a year of emotional arguments in Congress but no new federal laws, the national debate over the future of human cloning has shifted to the states. Six states have already banned cloning in one form or another, and this year alone 38 anticloning measures were introduced in 22 states.

       The resulting patchwork of laws, people on all sides of the issue say, complicates a nationwide picture already clouded by scientific and ethical questions over whether and how to restrict cloning or to ban it altogether.

       Since 1997, when scientists announced the birth of Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal, the specter of cloned babies, infants that are in essence genetic carbon copies of adults, has loomed large in the public psyche and in the minds of lawmakers.

       Today, there is widespread agreement that cloning for reproduction is unsafe and should be banned. Now, the debate has shifted away from the ethics of baby-making and toward the morality of cloning embryos for their cells and tissues, which might be used to treat diseases. The controversy pits religious conservatives and abortion opponents, who regard embryos as nascent human life, against patients groups, scientists and the biotechnology industry.

 

SECTION 4: LISTENING TEST

(30 MINUTES)

 

Part A: Note-taking And Gap-filling

Direction: In this part of the test you will hear a short talk. you will hear the talk ONLY ONCE. While listening to the talk, you may take notes on the important points so that you can have enough information to complete a gap-filling task on a separate ANSWER BOOKLET. You will not get your ANSWER BOOKLET until after you have listened to the talk.

 

      Snap judgements are opinions which are formed suddenly, seemingly on no sound ____________(1) at all. They are usually thought of as signs of ____________(2). Most people think we judge a person by what he says or how he acts over a period of time. But, according to ____________(3) researchers, the importance of speech has been ____________(4). We actually use other forms of communication by which we are ____________(5) sending messages. These messages are unconsciously picked up by others and used in forming opinions.

      We communicate a great deal with our ____________(6)— we are not actually talking then, but we are “saying” a lot with the “body language”. Two of the most ____________(7) forms of behaviour are driving cars and playing games.

      ____________(8) not only serves a practical function, but also communicates many things about our social ____________(9), state of ____________(10) and even our ____________(11) and dreams. The ____________(12) we wear often tell a variety of things about ourselves, such as our ____________(13), beliefs, ____________(14) in certain groups, past ____________(15) and economic status. Our choices in ____________(16) and furniture can also be said to show something about our ____________(17).

      When we meet a person for the first time, you start ____________(18) his actions, his ____________(19), his clothing and many other things, even if he doesn’t speak to you. All these things tell us a lot about that person if we know how to understand the body ____________(20).

 

Part B: Listening and Translation

I. Sentence Translation

Directions: In this part of the test, you will hear 5 English sentences. You will hear the sentences ONLY ONCE. After you have heard each sentence, translate it into Chinese and write your version in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET.

 

(1)

 

 

(2)

 

 

(3)

 

 

(4)

 

 

(5)

 

 

 

II. Passage Translation

Directions: In this part of the test, you will hear 2 English passages. You will hear the passage ONLY ONCE. After you have heard each passage, translate it into Chinese and write your version in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET. You may take note while you are listening.

 

(1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

SECTION 5: READING TEST

(30 MINUTES)

 

Direction: Read the following passage and then answer IN COMPLETE SENTENCES the questions which follow each passage. Use only information from the passage you have just read and write your answer in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET.

 

Questions 1~3

       For 40 years the sight of thousands of youngsters striding across the open moorland has been as much an annual fixture as spring itself. But the 2,400 school pupils who join the grueling Dartmoor Ten Tors Challenge next Saturday may be among the last to take part in the May tradition. The trek faces growing criticism from environmentalists who fear that the presence of so many walkers on one weekend threatens the survival of some of Dartmoor’s internationally rare bird species.

       The Ten Tors challenge takes place in the middle of the breeding season, when the slightest disturbance can jeopardize birds’ chances of reproducing successfully. Experts at the RSPB and the Dartmoor National Park Authority fear that the walkers could frighten birds and even crush eggs. They are now calling for the event to be moved to the autumn, when the breeding season is over and chicks should be well established. Organisers of the event, which is led by about 400 Territorial Army volunteers, say moving it would be impractical for several reasons and would mean pupils could not train properly for the 55-mile trek. Dartmoor is home to 10 rare species of ground-nesting birds, including golden plovers, dunlins and lapwings. In some cases, species are either down to their last two pairs on the moor or are facing a nationwide decline.

       Emma Parkin, South-west spokeswoman for the RSPB, took part in the challenge as a schoolgirl. She said the society had no objections to the event itself but simply wanted it moved to another time of year. “It is a wonderful activity for the children who take part but, having thousands of people walking past in one weekend when birds are breeding is hardly ideal,” she said. “We would prefer it to take place after the breeding and nesting season is over. There is a risk of destruction and disturbance. If the walkers put a foot in the wrong place they can crush the eggs and if there is sufficient disturbance the birds might abandon the nest.” Helen Booker, an RSPB upland conservation officer, said there was no research into the scale of the damage but there was little doubt the walk was detrimental. “If people are tramping past continually it can harm the chances of successful nesting. There is also the fear of direct trampling of eggs.” A spokesman for the Dartmoor National Park Authority said the breeding season on the moor lasted from early March to mid-July, and the Ten Tors challenge created the potential for disturbance from March, when participants start training.

       To move the event to the autumn was difficult because children would be on holiday during the training period. There was a possibility that some schools in the South-west might move to a four-term year in 2004, but until then any change was unlikely. The authority last surveyed bird life on Dartmoor two years ago and if the -next survey showed any further decline, it would increase pressure to move the challenge, he said.

       Major Mike Pether, secretary of the army committee that organizes the challenge, said the event could be moved if there was the popular will. “The Ten Tots has been running for 42 years and it has always been at this time of year. It is almost in tablets of stone but that’s not to say we won’t consider moving if there is a consensus in favour. However, although the RSPB would like it moved, 75 per cent of the people who take part want it to stay as it is,” he said. Major Pether said the trek could not be moved to earlier in the year because it would conflict with the lambing season, most of the children were on holiday in the summer, and the winter weather was too harsh.

       Dartmoor National Park occupies some 954 sq km of hills topped by granite outcrops known as “Tors” with the highest Tor-capped hill reaching 621m. The valleys and dips between the hills are often sites of bogs to snare the unwary hiker. The moor has long been used by the British Army as a training and firing range. The origin of the event stretches back to 1959 when three Army officers exercising on the moor thought it would provide a challenge for civilians as well as soldiers. In the first year 203 youngsters took up the challenges. Since then teams, depending on age and ability, face hikes of 35, 45 or 55 miles between 10 nominated Tors over two days. They are expected to carry everything they need to survive.

1.   What is the Ten Tors challenge? Give a brief introduction of its location and history.

2.   Why is it suggested that the event be moved to the autumn or other seasons?

3.   What are the difficulties if the event is moved to autumn or other seasons?

 

Questions 4~7

       Mike and Adam Hurewitz grew up together on Long Island, in the suburbs of New York City. They were very close, even for brothers. So when Adam’s liver started failing, Mike offered to give him half of his. The operation saved Adam’s life. But Mike, who went into the hospital in seemingly excellent health, developed a complication--perhaps b blood colt--and died last week. He was 57. Mike Hurewitz’s death has prompted a lot of soul searching in the transplant community. Was it a tragic fluke or a sign that transplant surgery has reached some kind of ethical limit? The Mount Sinai Medical Center, the New York City hospital where the complex double operation was performed, has put on hold its adult living-donor liver-transplant program, pending a review of Hurewitz’s death. Mount Sinai has performed about 100 such operations in the past three years.

       A 1-in-100 risk of dying may not seem like bad odds, but there’s more to this ethical dilemma than a simple ratio. The first and most sacred rule of medicine is to do no harm. “For a normal healthy person a mortality rate of 1% is hard to justify,” says Dr. John Fung, chief of transplantation at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “If the rate stays at 1%, it’s just not going to be accepted.” On the other hand, there’s an acute shortage of traditional donor organs from people who have died in accidents or suffered fatal heart attacks. If family members fully understand the risks and are willing to proceed, is there any reason to stand in their way? Indeed, a recent survey showed that most people will accept a mortality rate for living organ donors as high as 20%. The odds, thankfully, aren’t nearly that bad. For kidney donors, for example, the risk ranges from 1 in 2,500 to 1 in 4,000 for a healthy volunteer. That helps explain why nearly 40% of kidney transplants in the U.S. come from living donors.

       The operation to transplant a liver, however, is a lot trickier than one to transplant a kidney. Not only is the liver packed with blood vessels, but it also makes lots of proteins that need to be produced in the right ratios for the body to survive. When organs from the recently deceased are used, the surgeon gets to pick which part of the donated liver looks the best--and to take as much of it as needed. Assuming all goes well, a healthy liver can grow back whatever portion of the organ is missing, sometimes within a month.

       A living-donor transplant works particularly well when an adult donates a modest portion of the liver to a child. Usually only the left lobe of the organ is required, leading to a mortality rate for living donors in the neighborhood of 1 in 500 to I in 1,000. But when the recipient is another adult, as much as 60% of the donor’s liver has to be removed. “There really is very little margin for error,” says Dr. Fung. By way of analogy, he suggests, think of a tree. “An adult-to-child living-donor transplant is like cutting off a limb. With an adult-to-adult transplant, you’re splitting the trunk in half and trying to keep both halves alive.”

       Even if a potential donor understands and accepts these risks, that doesn’t necessarily mean the operation should proceed. All sorts of subtle pressures can be brought to bear on such a decision, says Dr. Mark Siegler, director of the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago. “Sometimes the sicker the patient, the greater the pressure and the more willing the donor will be to accept risks.” If you feel you can’t say no, is your decision truly voluntary? And if not, is it the medical community’s responsibility to save you from your own best intentions?

       Transplant centers have developed screening programs to ensure that living donors fully understand the nature of their decision. But unexamined, for the most part, is the larger issue of just how much a volunteer should be allowed to sacrifice to save another human being. So far, we seem to be saying some risk is acceptable, although we’re still Vaguer about where the cutoff should be. There will always be family members like Mike Hurewitz who are heroically prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for a loved one. What the medical profession--and society--must decide is if it’s appropriate to let them do so.

4.   Describe in your own words the liver transplant between the two brothers Mike and Adam.

5.   What is the major issue raised in the article?

6.   Explain briefly Dr. Fung’s comparison between organ transplant and a tree. What does he imply through this analogy?

7.   If family members fully understands the risks in organ transplant and are still willing to proceed, shall the medical professionals encourage or stop them? What is your personal view toward such issue?

 

Questions 8~10

       Burnt by stock-market losses, investors in ever-increasing numbers have found an answer to their woes: litigate. According to Stanford Law School, shareholders filed 327 class-action lawsuits against American companies last year--up 60% on the previous year. Their pied piper is Bill Lerach. He and his law firm, Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach, have turned the class-action lawsuit into an industry. More than half of last year’s suits were fought by Lerach and his colleagues.

       Branded an “economic terrorist” by one rival and “lower than pond scum” by another’ Lerach’s firm is the terror of corporate America. Milberg Weiss has won more than $20 billion in class-action suits but has not escaped controversy of its own. It is being investigated by a Los Angeles federal grand jury over allegations that it paid “professional plaintiffs” to use their names on lawsuits.

       Few of Lerach’s cases ever get to court. Settling on the lawcourt steps is an American tradition and often less embarrassing and expensive than taking a case all the way. But the rules have been rewritten since Enron’s collapse. Having failed to reach an agreement with Lerach and others, Arthur Andersen trial starts this week in Houston over the accountant’s alleged destruction of Enron-related documents. On Wednesday another judge will hear from other defendants being pursued by Lerach.

       Lerach’s original suit was filed late last year in Houston’s federal court on behalf of the University of California Board of Regents, which lost $140m, and other Enron shareholders. The lawsuit names a stellar array of blue-chip banks, including Barclays, Citigroup and Merrill Lynch, as parties to the alleged Enron scheme that cost investors $25 billion. It also names law firms and 60 Enron and Arthur Andersen executives, directors and partners. When the judge decides whether to let any of the parties escape the court case, due in December 2003, settlement talks will begin in earnest. In the meantime, the heat is being tuned up on Lerach. A recent Wall Street Journal editorial attacked the university for hiring him. The real lesson for the Regents is that when you lie down with lawyers, you catch ethical fleas,” it said. The Journal’ attack tallies with many senior business figures who privately say Lerach and his followers have made the law a joke, basing their attacks more on a participant’s ability to pay than their guilt. “Lerach isn’t expecting to prove his case in court, but only in the media, hoping defendants will settle regardless of guilt to get their names out of the news. Is that a good lesson for the kids?” asked the Journal.

       Lerach did not return calls when asked to comment, but Trey Davis, a university spokesman, dismissed the criticism: “The decision to name the investment banks and the law firms is not based on a search for assets in the wake of Enron’s bankruptcy and Arthur Andersen’s business decline,” he said. “It’s an earnest effort seeking return of money that rightfully belongs to the victims.”

       John Coffee, law professor at Columbia University, says the rise in class actions is inevitable given the fall in stock prices. And he says that, if anything, changes in the rules have improved the quality of many cases filed. Legal reforms, introduced in 1995, have made it almost impossible for disgruntled investors to sue a company for missing its profit forecasts. The changes also require lawyers to show evidence of wrong-doing for a case to proceed. The reforms were designed to curb the frivolous lawsuits that had become part to the cost of doing business for almost every American public company. Most cases now brought against companies allege some sort of accounting impropriety.

       And says Coffee, the reforms mean more suits now have a strong case to answer. “There’s a whole industry out there saying securities litigation is all frivolous,” he says. “There’s a high correlation between an earnings restatement and some highly suspicious monkey business with the prior financial reporting. I don’t think these are cases in which the defendants are perfectly innocent victims.”

8.   What are the class-action lawsuits referred to in the passage? What do you learn about Bill Lerach’s law firm?

9.   What does it mean by the sentence “Milberg Weiss .... has not escaped controversy of its own.” (para. 2)?

10.  What do you know from Wall Street Journal editorial’s attack (para. 4)?

 

SECTION 6: TRANSLATION TEST

(30 minutes)

Directions: Translate the following passage into English and write your version in the corresponding space in your ANSWER BOOKLET.

         目前，亞洲的發(fā)展面臨著新的機(jī)遇，也面臨著新的挑戰(zhàn)�？傮w上，亞洲依然是當(dāng)今世界最具經(jīng)濟(jì)活力和發(fā)展?jié)摿Φ牡貐^(qū)。經(jīng)濟(jì)全球化的深入發(fā)展和科學(xué)技術(shù)的迅猛進(jìn)步，有利于亞洲各國利用國際資本，引進(jìn)先進(jìn)技術(shù)，開拓國際市場，推動本國經(jīng)濟(jì)的發(fā)展。但是，亞洲某些地區(qū)的安全形勢仍不容樂觀，反對恐怖主義的斗爭尚待深入。經(jīng)濟(jì)全球化在帶來發(fā)展機(jī)遇的同時，也增加了國際經(jīng)濟(jì)環(huán)境的不確定性，增加了本地區(qū)內(nèi)發(fā)展中經(jīng)濟(jì)體結(jié)構(gòu)調(diào)整的難度和遭遇外部沖擊的風(fēng)險。

 譯路通武漢漢口翻譯公司整理

2012.6.4