上海市高級口譯第一階段筆試分類模擬高級閱讀(三)

1、上海市高級口譯第一階段筆試分類模擬高級閱讀（ 三）（ 總分： 100.00 ，做題時間： 90 分鐘 ）一、 SECTION 1 READING TEST（ 總題數(shù)： 4，分數(shù)： 50.00）Valentine"s Day is tomorrow, and we are all thinking about true love and heart-shaped chocolate candy. Well, maybe not all of us. Some of us, actually, are considering the quantifiable aspects of div

2、orce. In America today, some 50 percent of marriages are predicted to end in divorce. And at the University of Washington in Seattle they say they can tell you exactly well, almostexactly which ones those will be.A psychologist, a mathematician, and a pathologist have devised what they call a proven

3、 mathematical formula for detecting which relationships will go sour thereby holding out hopethat such couples can overcome their problems, and avoid divorce. "We have been able to predict that divorce will happen before it does. That"s old news," says John Gottman, emeritus professor

4、 of psychology. "But what we have now is a scientific model for understanding why we can predict it with such accuracy."The work marks the first time a mathematic model is being used to understand such deep personal humaninteractions, adds James Murray, professor of applied mathematics. &q

5、uot;It is totally objective. And our prediction of which couples would divorce within a four-year period was 94 percent accurate." This is how it works. Couples face each other and discuss each speaking in turn a subject over which they have disagreed more than once in the past. They are wired

6、to detect various physiological data, such as pulse rates, and they"re also videotaped. A session lasts a mere 15 minutes. The research team watches and analyzes the tapes and data, awarding plus or minus points depending on the type of interactions and according to a standard scoring system. E

7、verything is then translated into equations and plotted on a graph, which the researchers have dubbed the "Dow- Jones Industrial Average for marital conversation". Once this is done, different situations are simulated and analyzed from the equations and graphs, and predictions are made.Ove

8、r the past 16 years more than 700 couples （at different stages of their marriages） took part in the research. But let"s go back a moment. It all starts, say, with a chat about mothers-in-law apparently one of the hot topics of contention among couples, along with money and sex, according to Dr.

9、 Murray. "The husband might say to his wife, "Your mother really is a pain in the neck." Well, that"s a minus two points. A shrug, that"s a no-noso minus one. Androlled eyes very negative, that"s minus two." If however, the husband were to say, "Your mother is

10、 a pain in the neck . but she is sometimes funny," then, according to the researchers, you would take away two points and then give one back. If the husband cracked a smile, he would get another point. At the end of all the additions and subtractions, a stable marriage is indicated by having fi

11、ve more positive points than negative ones. Otherwise, warns the team, the marriage is in trouble.In trouble but not doomed. The whole point of the model, says Dr. Gottman, is that it gives therapists new understanding with which they can help couples overcome patterns of interaction and prevent div

12、orce. "What we are suggesting," says Murray, "is that couples who take this experiment then be told the prediction and realize they are going to have to both change their behavior and repair what is wrong."Not everyone buys into this model. Bonnie Jacobson, a clinical psychologis

13、t and processor at New York University, says it is "absolutely impossible" to understand the workings of a relationship via a one-size-fits-all model. "For mostly every couple I have seen, it"s hard to see how they got together in the first place," she says. "So unless

14、you really get to know the nuanced dynamics, you will never "get it" or be able to help."Christine Fasano was married for only 14 months before getting a divorce last year. She agrees the dynamics of a relationship are nuanced and complex but also sees merit in the University of Washi

15、ngton study"s basic assumption that if one looks starkly at interaction between a couple, it is possible to ascertain whether the relationship is headed toward demise. "I"m not surprised the model works," she says. "It"s actually not that profound. My basic observation

16、of couplesthat are happily married is that they treat each other well. That is basically what they are saying, and that is hard to argue with."So, any final advice for Valentine"s Day from the divorce research team out in Washington? "I would never give advice on matters of the heart,

17、" says Murray, who, incidentally, has been married 45 years. "But I suppose the bottom line is, yes, communication. And being good to one another.That is nice to quantify." (分數(shù)： 12.50 )(1) .The mathematical model is designed by these scientists . (分數(shù)： 2.50 )A. to figure out the probab

18、ility of divorceB. to predict and help avoid divorceVC. for the newly-married young couplesD. on the basis of physiological data解析：解析對文章基本內(nèi)容的理解，相關(guān)信息見第二段。選項B的說明較為全面。選項A只點出了該數(shù)學(xué)模型的功能的一部分，不夠全面，選項C的概括過于狹窄，選項D的說明有一定依據(jù)，但亦欠全面，均予排除。(2) .Which of the following CANNOT be found about the mathematical formula?(分

19、數(shù)： 2.50 )A. It is quite popular and has been widely accepted.VB. It has been experimented with over 700 couples.C. It has been invented by a number of scientists from related fields.D. It is proved useful as more marriages end in divorce.解析：解析對文章基本內(nèi)容的理解，須采用排除法，相關(guān)信息分布在第二、三、四段。選項B，C和D的內(nèi)容均與文章提供的信息相當(dāng)，唯選

20、項A的概括過于夸大，與題意相符，為正確答案。(3) .In the sentence "Not everyone buys into this model" (para. 6), the expression "buys into" can be interpreted as . (分數(shù)： 2.50 )A. pays to acquireB. supports fullyC. have confidence inD. understands and acceptsV解析： 解析 根據(jù)上下文正確理解句子和詞語的能力，主要見第六段。 Buv into 為一比

21、喻用法，根據(jù)上 下文這里指的是人們對該數(shù)學(xué)預(yù)測模型的理解認識和接受問題，選項A，B和c或為錯解或解釋不當(dāng)，均予排除。選項D準確表達了原短語的意思，為正確答案。(4) .Christine Fasano is introduced in the passage because .(分數(shù)： 2.50 )A. her divorce was predicted and avoided by the formulaB. her divorce proved the effectiveness of the mathematical modelC. she thought the rationale b

22、ehind the formula is understandableVD. she argued that divorce could be prevented by frequent communication解析： 解析 對文章基本內(nèi)容的理解，主要信息見第七段。作者舉 Christine Fasano 為例，以說明公眾 對該預(yù)測模型的認識，選項C為正確答案，選項 A，B和D或與事實不符，或文章中并未提及，均予排除。分數(shù)： 2.50 )(5) .The love equation employs all of the following methods EXCEPT A. it is ba

23、sed on the analysis of recordings of marital conversationB. it uses an addition and subtraction system to record the dataC. it makes predictions from analysis of equations and graphsD. it uses the interviews of each of the spouses separatelyV解析： 解析 對文章基本內(nèi)容的理解， 主要內(nèi)容見第三段。 這一段圍繞對該婚姻預(yù)測數(shù)學(xué)模型的描述展開。 選項A，B和C

24、均與文章描述相符，均予排除；選項D與文章的內(nèi)容不一致，符合題意，為正確答案。A Black comedy by a first-time novelist with a past as colorful as his book has defied the bookies to win the £ 50,000 Man Booker prize, the most important honour in the British literary world.Vernon GodLittle by DBCPierre, the nomde plume of 42-year-old Me

25、xican-Australian Peter Finlay, was the unanimous choice of the Booker judges, chaired by John Carey, who took less than an hour to decide. The novel tells the story of Vernon Gregory, a Texan teenager who is put on trial accused of a massacre at his high school.At the awards ceremony at the British

26、Museum in London last night, Professor Carey described itas a "coruscating black comedy reflecting our alarm but also our fascination with modern America". Accepting the prize, the novelist said: "My mum is in the audience. I want to say she and the rest of my family planted the idea

27、that I could do anything and I would just like to apologise for taking it literally." It beat a shortlist including Brick Lane, the first novel by MonicaAli which was the bookmakers" favourite and has been the biggest seller in the shops, andOryxand Crake by Margaret Atwood, the only estab

28、lished author to make it to the final round of judging. Martyn Goff, the director of the ManBooker prize, said he was "absolutely amazed" at the swiftness of the decision which was made after the second shortest debate in the prize"s 35-year history."Four of them jumped as one, a

29、nd the fifth member of the jury was not unhappy," he said. The judges were particularly convinced by the way the author was able to create such a strong sense of America. "There was a feeling that it could only have been written by an American whereas we all know it wasn"t," he s

30、aid.DBC Pierre the initials stand for Dirty But Cleanis a reformed drug addict and gambler whowas born into a wealthy family but lost virtually everything when the banks were nationalised in Mexico in 1982. Without his family money to fall back on, Finlay has admitted selling his best friend"s

31、home and keeping the proceeds as well as working up hundreds of thousands of dollars of debts in a scheme to find gold in Mexico. Revealing how his life was often stranger than fiction, he said in a recent interview. "For nine years I was in a drug haze, on a rampage of cocaine, heroin, any shi

32、t I could get. I am not proud of what I have done and I now want to put it right." A publishing deal for the book was sealed just one hour before the first plane hit New York"sWorld Trade Centre on 11 September, 2001. "Ever since, I feel like there"s some dark destiny swirling ar

33、ound the book," he said. His financial problems are likely to become a thing of the past. A filmmaker has bought an option to make a movie of the book and as well as the£ 50,000prize cheque, the writer, who currently lives in Ireland, is guaranteed a significant increase in sales. Sales of

34、 last year"s winner, Yann Martel"s Life of Pi , have exceeded 1 million copies. Martin Higgs, literary editor ofWaterstone"s , said. "The storyline for this book is one thatyou would as much see played out today on the six o"clock news as read in a novel and has for this rea

35、son struck a chord with book lovers."Finlay was second favourite to win, behind Monica Ali, 35, who created a flurry of interest even before her debut novel was published whenshe was namedone of Granta"s best young British novelists. The other shortlisted books were TheGoodDoctor , by Damo

36、nGalgut, Astonishing Splashes of Colour by Clare Morrall, and Notes on a Scandal by the former Independent on Sundayjournalist Zoe Heller, 38. (分數(shù)： 12.50 )(1) .The novelist Peter Finlay said that, when accepting the prize, he "would just like to apologise for taking it literally" (para. 2)

37、 The word "it" refers to the idea of .(分數(shù)： 2.50 )A. selling his friend"s home and using up the moneyB. publishing the novelVernon God LittleC. owing huge amounts of debts to othersD. doing whatever he likedV解析： 解析 根據(jù)上下文正確理解詞語和句子的能力，主要見第二段。文章提到小說作者就自己過去的作 為對母親及家庭成員表示道歉，據(jù)上下文，選項 D 的解釋比較貼

38、切，為正確答案。選項 A 為他曾經(jīng)做過的錯事之一，但在該語句中it不可能直接指該事，選項 B意思錯，選項C也是他曾經(jīng)的過錯，同樣不在it直指的范圍，均予排除。(2) .We can learn from the shortlisted books of this year"s Man Booker prize that .(分數(shù)： 2.50 )A. most of them are from established authorsB. some of them are from first-time novelistsVC. all of them are biggest selle

39、rs in the shopsD. half of them were written by former journalists解析：解析對文章基本內(nèi)容的理解，主要信息見第一段和最后一段。選項A，C和D與文章介紹的情況多少有出入，均予排除。選項 B 與相關(guān)信息相符，為正確答案。(3) .Accordingto the passage, the director of the ManBooker prize was "absolutely amazed" because. (分數(shù)： 2.50 )A. the debate over the prize winner was

40、so hot and fierceB. the plot of Vernon God Little was so fascinatingC. the Booker judges were almost unanimous in their decisionVD. the fifth member of the jury refused to change his mind解析：解析對文章基本內(nèi)容的理解，主要見第三段。選項C與該獎項評委會主任Martyn Goff介紹的評獎過程基本一致，為正確答案。選項A和D與所介紹情況相反，選項B所述內(nèi)容雖不錯，但并非是該評委主任感到 absolutely a

41、mazed 的直接原因，均予排除。(4) .The author mentions in the passage the sales of last year"s winner Yann Martel"sLife of Pito imply that . (分數(shù)： 2.50 )A. the success ofVernon God Littlewill bring the author a lot of moneyVB. Peter Finlay will become as rich as a world famous movie starC. the sales ofV

42、ernon God Littlewill exceed that ofLife of PiD. the Booker prize winning novels will become world classics解析： 解析 對文章基本內(nèi)容的理解， 主要見第五段。 作者有意提及上一屆獲大獎作品銷售超過 100萬冊， 然后介紹 Waterstone"s的文學(xué)編輯對本次獲大獎作品的評論，意指該書也一定能暢銷，選項A為答案。選項B欠妥，選項C原文并未作此推斷，選項 D的說明過于夸大，均予排除。(5) .Which of the following CANNOTbe concluded fr

43、om the passage about the novelist Peter Finlay? (分數(shù)： 2.50 )A. He had once been a drug addict and gambler.B. He almost lost everything because of the nationalization of banks in Mexico.C. He was quite worried before the publication of his first novel.D. He knew his best-selling book would win the nat

44、ional literary prize.V解析：解析對文章基本內(nèi)容的理解，主要內(nèi)容見第四、五兩段，須采用排除法。選項A，B和C(l feellike there"s some dark destiny swirling around the book)文中均有提及或介紹，予以排除。選項 D與文中介紹的事實不符，符合題意，為正確答案。Concrete is probably used more widely than any other substance except water, yet it remains largely unappreciated. "Some p

45、eople view the 20th century as the atomic age, the space age, the computer agebut an argument can be made that it was the concrete age," says cement specialist Hendrik van Oss. "lt"s a miracle material." lndeed, more than a ton of concrete is produced each year for every man, wom

46、anand child on Earth. Yet concrete is generally ignored outside the engineering world, a victim of its own ubiquity and the industry"s conservative pace of development. Now, thanks to environmental pressures and entrepreneurial innovation, a new generation of concretes is emerging. This high-te

47、ch assortment of concrete confections promises to be stronger, lighter, and more environmentally friendly than ever before.The concretes they will replace are, for the most part, strong and durable, but with limitations. Concrete is sound under compression but weak under tension. Steel rebars are us

48、ed as reinforcement, but make recycling difficult when concrete breaks downand break down it inevitably will. Crackscaused by stress grow larger over time, with water forcing them open and corroding the rebars within. "When you put enough stress on it, concrete doesn"t work like we want it

49、 to. We"re asking too much of it now," says Mr. van Oss. Concrete is also a climate-change villain. It is made by mixing water with an aggregate, such as sand or gravel, and cement. Cement is usually made by heating limestone and clay to over 2,500 degrees F. The resulting chemical reactio

50、n, along with fuel burned to heat the kiln, produces between 7 and 10 percent of global carbon-dioxide emissions. "When we have to repeatedly regenerate these materials because they"re not durable, we release more emissions," says Victor Li, a civil and environmental engineering profe

51、ssor at the University of Michigan. Dr. Li has created a concrete suffused by synthetic fibers that make it stronger, more durable, and able to bend like a metal. Li"s creation does not require reinforcement, a property shared by other concretes that use chemical additives called plasticizers t

52、o reduce the amount of water in their composition. Using less water makes concrete stronger, but until the development of plasticizers, it also made concrete sticky, dry, and hard to handle, says Christian Meyer, a civil engineering professor at Columbia University."The engineer would specify a

53、 certain strength, a certain amount of water and as soon as asupervisor turned his back, in would go a bucket of water," says Dr. Meyer of the time before plasticizers. Making stronger concretes, says Li, allows less to be used, reducing waste and giving architects more freedom. "You can h

54、ave such futuristic designs if you don"t have to put rebar in there, or structural beams," says van Oss. "You can have things shooting off into space at odd angles. Many possibilitiesare opened up." A more directly "green" concrete has been developedby the Australian co

55、mpany TecEco. They add magnesium to their cement, forming a porous concrete that actually scrubs carbon dioxide from the air."The planet"s been through several episodes of global warming before, and nature put carbon away as coal, petroleum, and carbonate sediments," says TecEco manag

56、er John Harrison. "Now we"re in charge, and we need to do the same. Wecan literally "put away" carbon in our own built environment." Another modification to the built environment is the carbon fiber-reinforced concrete of DeborahChung, a materials scientist at the State Univ

57、ersity of New York at Buffalo. By running an electrical current through concrete, Dr. Chung says, tiny deformations caused by minute pressures can be detected. "You can monitor room occupancy in real-time, controlling lighting, ventilation, and cooling in relation to how many people are there,&

58、quot; says Chung.While experts agree that these new concretes will someday be widely used, the timetable is uncertain. Concrete companies are responsive to environmental concerns and are always looking to stretch the utility of their product, but the construction industry is slow to change. "Wh

59、en you start monkeying around with materials, the governing bodies, the building departments, are very cautions before they let you use an unproven material," Meyer says. In the next few decades, says van Oss, building codes will change, opening the way for innovative materials. But while new c

60、oncretes may be stronger and more durable, they are also more expensive and whether thetendency of developers and the public to focus on short-term rather than long-term costs will also change is another matter. （分數(shù)： 12.50 ）（1）.When cement specialist Hendrik van Oss argues that 20th century can be viewed as the "concrete age", he most probably means that . （分數(shù)： 2.50 ）A. the traditional building material concrete is the only man-made miracleB. concrete is indispensable in the development of modern constructio