考研英語(yǔ)真題80-99年

1980年全國(guó)碩士研究生入學(xué)統(tǒng)一考試英語(yǔ)試題

SectionIUseofPrepositions

在所給的介詞中選擇一個(gè)適當(dāng)?shù)奶钊肟瞻祝?本大題共5分，每題￡分)(注意：各題只能填

寫一個(gè)答案，多填答案不得分)

to,at,insteadof,from,of,with,on,among,between,becauseof,about,forinto,withregard

to,over

1.Thefindingsarefarsatisfactory.

2.Weshalldividetheworkusresearchworkers.

3.Therainyseasoninthatcountryvaries3-4months.

4.Theyhaveneverheardsuchaninvention.

5.Wemustpayattentionthelatestdevelopmentofthesituation.

6.Thenewly-installedcontrolcomputerwillsoonbeputuse.

7.ThenewswhichIamgoingtotellyouisratherserious.

8.Theengineerseemedtoknowwhatthesignstood.

9.Themachinetoolwentoutofcontrolmishandling.

10.Don'tbesatisfiedwhatyouhaveachieved.

SectionIIVerbTenses

用所給動(dòng)詞的適當(dāng)時(shí)態(tài)語(yǔ)態(tài)填入空白：(本大題共10分，第7題2分，其余各題均1分)漁

意：各題只能填寫一個(gè)答案，多填答案不得分)

11.Thosewho'dliketovisittheexhibition(sign)yournameshere.

12.Agreatnumberofsmallpowerstations(setup)intheircountysinceliberation.

13.Heaskedmewhethermybrother(fly)toBeijing.

14.Hefellasleepimmediatelylastnight;hemust(be)verytired.

15.“Haveyoumovedintothenewflat?”

“Notyet.Therooms(paint).”

16.Thedirectorrecommendedthatshe(study)moreEnglishbeforegoingabroad.

17.Theteachertoldthemsincelight(travel)fasterthansound,lightning

(appear)togobeforethunder.

18.Howlongthey(dig)theditch?

19.Herefusedtotelluswhetherhe(undertake)thejob.

SectionIIIVerbForms

用所給動(dòng)詞的適當(dāng)形式(不定式、分詞、動(dòng)名詞)填入空白：(本大題共15分，每題4分)

(注意：各題只能填寫一個(gè)答案，多填答案不得分)

20.Matteristhename(give)toeverythingwhichhasweightandoccupiesspace.

21.Ishallneverforget(meet)thelatePremierZhouduringhisinspectionofour

factory.

22.Iwonderifhecouldgetit(do)beforetomorrow.

23.Night(fall),wehurriedhome.

24.Abeamoflightwillnotbendroundcornersunless(make)todosowiththehelp

ofareflectingdevice.

25.Wewerebusy(get)thingsreadyforthetrialproductionwhenhephonedus.

26.Somemoleculesarelargeenough(see)undertheelectronicmicroscope.

27.Thefloordoesnotlooksobadwhen(sweep)clean.

28.(fail)severaltimes,theyneedsomeencouragement.

29.(catch)intherain,hewaswettotheskin.

SectionIVStructureandVocabulary

選擇填空：(本大題共15分,每題1分)在每題下面的[A],[B],[C],[D]四個(gè)答案中,將你認(rèn)

為最合適的答案畫個(gè)“O”。(注意：各題只能填寫一個(gè)答案，多填答案不得分)

EXAMPLE:

HemethathedecidedtoleaveonMonday.

[A]spokefB]said[C]talked[D]toldANSWER:[D]

30.Thistestanumberofmultiplechoicequestions.

[A]composesof[B|composesin|C]consistsof[D]consistsin

31.Shewritesasashersister.

[A]clear|B]moreclear[C]clearly[D|mostclearly

32.Ipreferthisdiagramthatone.

[A]than[B]morethanfC]ratherthan[D]to

33.Ihavebeenstudyinghereforfouryears,bynextsummerI.

[A]shallgraduate!B|shallbegraduated|C]shallbegraduating|D]shallhavegraduated

34.Hardlyhadhefinishedhisspeechtheaudiencestartedcheering.

[A]and[B]when[C]than[D]as

35.Iwishyoulikethat.

[A]don'ttalk[B]won'ttalk[C]wouldn'ttalk[D]nottotalk

36.Onlywhenyouhaveobtainedsufficientdatacometoasoundconclusion.

[A]canyou|B]wouldyou[C]youwill[D]youcan

37.Ifoundtoanswerallthequestionswithinthetimegiven.

[A]nopossibility[B]therewasimpossibility[C]impossible[D]itimpossible

38.Yougonow.It'sgettinglate.

[A]hadrather[Blwouldrather[C]hadbetter[D]wouldbetter

39.Hotmetalasitgrowscooler.

[A]contracts[B]reduces|C]condenses|D]compresses

40.Wooddoesnotconductelectricity;.

[AJsodoesn'trubber[B]alsodoesn'trubber[C]nordoesrubber[D]norrubberdoes

41.ComradeLibeinBeijingbecauseIsawhimintownonlyafewminutesago.

[A]mustn't[B]canHtC]maynot[D]isn'tableto

42.Iknowitisn'timportantbutIcan'thelpaboutit.

[A]buttothink[B]thinking[C]think[D]tothink

43.Themorewelookedatthepicture,.

|A]thelesswelikedit|B]welikeitless[C]betterwelikedit|D|itlookedbetter

44.Tosucceedinascientificresearchproject.

[A]oneneedstobepersistent[B]persistenceisneeded

[C]oneneedsbeapersistentperson

[D]persistenceiswhatoneneeds

SectionVError-detection

認(rèn)辯錯(cuò)誤：（本大題共5分，每題1分）下面句子中有四處劃線部分，在你

認(rèn)為是錯(cuò)誤的一處畫上（注意：各題只能填寫一個(gè)答案，多填答案不得分）

EXAMPLE:

Itisverykindofyoutosupplymewithsomanyinformations.

ABCD

ANSWER:[D]

45.Neverbeforehassomanypeopleinourcountrybeeninterestedinathleticsports.

ABCD

46.ThoseofuswhoworkinthatchemicalplantshouldhavetheirlungsX-rayed.

ABCD

47.Afterthetrafficaccidenthelaidinbedfortwoweeks,waitingforhiswoundtoheal.

ABCD

48.Weadvicehimtogiveupsmokinganddoalotofexercises.

ABCD

49.Theprincipalreasonforthegreatnumberofsmokeisthattherearetoomanyfactories

ABCD

inthecity.

SectionVIChinese-EnglishTranslation

將下列句子譯成英語(yǔ)：（本大題共20分，第1題2分，其余各題均3分）

50.水一煮沸請(qǐng)立即把開關(guān)關(guān)掉。

51.在八十年代，中國(guó)人民將以更大的步伐向前邁進(jìn)。

52.我們都同意李同志已作出的決定。

53.這個(gè)結(jié)果比我們預(yù)期的要好得多。

54.在過(guò)去的三年中，在恢復(fù)我國(guó)國(guó)民經(jīng)濟(jì)方面做了大量的工作。

55.我們把英語(yǔ)作為學(xué)習(xí)西方先進(jìn)科學(xué)技術(shù)的一種工具。

56.沒(méi)有黨的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)，我國(guó)的社會(huì)主義現(xiàn)代化是不可能實(shí)現(xiàn)的。

SectionVIIEnglish-ChineseTranslation

將下列短文譯成漢語(yǔ)：（本大題30分）（文科各類專業(yè)譯第1段，理、工、醫(yī)、農(nóng)、體各類

專業(yè)譯第2段）

（1）

ThelifeofAlbertEinsteinisamodelinmanywaysforbothnaturalandpoliticalscientists.

Firstofall,healwaysemployedthescientificmethodofseekingtruthfromfacts.Hefirmly

believedasheputit,that“thereisnothingincomprehensibleabouttheuniverse,"andthrough

painstakingwork,explainedmanyofthephenomenathoughttobe“incomprehensible“inhisday.

Einsteinwasalsoneverafraidtoadmitmistakeswhenfactsprovedhistheorieswrong.

Second,Einstein'scontributionsshowedthegreatimportanceoftheoreticalworktoscientific

effort.Althoughhehimselfrarelyworkedinlaboratories,theconceptshedevelopedledtomany

ofthescientificadvanceswhichhaveshapedmoderntechnology.

Third,Einsteinbelievedverydeeplythatscientistsmusthaveamoralandsocial

consciousness.Inthisway,heprovidedinspirationforawholegenerationofscientistswho

becameactiveintheCommunistmovement.

Einsteinisoftenportrayedinbourgeoiswritingsasa“genius“whosetheoriesareso

complicatedthatnoonebutafewbestscientistscanunderstandthem.Buthehimselfrejectedthe

effortstoputhiminapositionfaraboveotherpeople.Hewaswellknownforhishumblemanner

andoftenstressedtointerviewersthathisaccomplishmentswouldcertainlyhavebeenachieved

byothershadheneverlived.

Actually,Einstein'stheoryofrelativityandhisotherscientificworksarenotthathardto

understandwithalittlestudy.ButbeyondlearningEinstein'stheories,hisoverallattitudetowards

scienceasatooltoliberatehumanityissomethingfromwhicheveryonecanandshouldlearn.

（2）

Betweennowandtheendofthecentury,therewillbemanyexcitingdevelopmentsandalso

manydifficultproblemstodealwith.Perhapsthemosturgentproblemistoprovideenoughfood.

Theworld'spopulationisexpectedtoreach7,000millionbytheyear2000,butalreadyscientists

haveproducednewandbettervarietiesofwheatandriceandanimal.Theyhavealsobeen

experimentingwithtechniquesofcultivatingplantsbyusingmixturesofchemicalcompoundsand

wateronly,andthentherewillbenoneedforordinarysoil.Anotherproblemwhichtheworldwill

faceistogetridofrefuse（廢料）.Onesolutionistobumrefuseatveryhightemperaturesin

incinerators（焚化爐）.Adevelopmentofthis,whichmayproveveryusefulinthefuture,istouse

theseincineratorstogeneratesteampower.Infact,anynewsourceofenergywillbevery

welcome,asthereisalreadyashortageofpetroleum.Tosolvetheenergyproblem,scientistswill

probablyalsotrytomakemoreuseofsolarenergy.

Thepossibleeffectsofsomescientificfields,suchaslasersandcryogenics（低溫學(xué)）,are

difficulttoimagineandbothalreadyhaveanumberofuses.Thesupercoolingeffectsofthe

cryogenicswhichconvertliquidhelium（液態(tài)氮）andothergasesinto“superfluids“andmetals

into“superconductors"，makingthemnon-resistanttoelectricity,couldchangetheworldina

numberofways.Thelaser,withitsbeamofstronglight,candrillaholeinadiamond,andyetcan

besowellcontrolledthatitcanbeusedindelicateeyeoperations.Thequestioniswhetheritwill

bemostusedforpeacefulpurposesorasadeadlyweapon.

Butperhapsthemostremarkabledevelopmentswilloccurinspaceflight.Oneofthe

difficultiesinthepasthasbeenthehighcost,butnowthespaceshuttleisbeingdeveloped,and

canbeusedalargenumberoftimesinsteadofonlyonce.Alreadymanhasbeentothemoon.

Perhapsbytheendofthecenturyhewillhavehadaclose-upviewofVenus（金星）orMars（火

星）.

1980年考研英語(yǔ)真題答案

SectionI:UseofPrepositions（5points）

fromamong

betweenof

toto,into

aboutfor

becauseofwith

SectionII:VerbTenses（10points）

signhavebeensetup

hadflownhavebeen

arebeingpaintedstudy

travels,appearshave...beendigging

wouldundertake

SectionIII:VerbForms（15points）

givenmeeting

50.Pleaseturnofftheswitch(switchoff)assoonasthewaterboils.

51.TheChinesepeoplewillfbrgeahead(marchon,marchonward,marchforward)withgreater

stridesin1980,s.

52.WeallagreetothedecisioncomradeLihasmade(made).

53.Theresultismuch(far)betterthanweexpected.

54.Duringthepastthreeyearsalot(ofwork)hasbeendoneintherecovery(restoration)ofour

nationaleconomy(inrecoveringournationaleconomy;inrestoringournationaleconomy).

55.WeuseEnglishasatoolinlearningWesternadvancedscienceandtechnology.

56.Itisimpossibletoaccomplish(carryout,fulfill,materialize)thesocialistmodernizationof

ourcountry(oursocialistmodernization)withouttheleadershipoftheParty.

SectionVII:English-ChineseTranslation(30points)

(1)

阿伯特?愛(ài)因斯坦的一生在許多方面，無(wú)論是對(duì)自然科學(xué)家，還是政治科學(xué)家，都是一

個(gè)范例。

首先，他總是運(yùn)用從事實(shí)中尋求真理的地。正如他所說(shuō)的，他堅(jiān)信“關(guān)于宇宙沒(méi)有東西

是不可知的，”并經(jīng)過(guò)艱苦的勞動(dòng)，了許多在他那個(gè)時(shí)代被認(rèn)為是“不可知”的種種現(xiàn)象。

而且，當(dāng)事實(shí)證明他的理論是錯(cuò)誤的時(shí)候，愛(ài)因斯坦也從不害怕承認(rèn)錯(cuò)誤。

其次，愛(ài)因斯坦的貢獻(xiàn)說(shuō)明理論工作對(duì)科學(xué)成就的巨大的重要性。雖然他自己很少在實(shí)

驗(yàn)室工作，他所發(fā)展的各種概念使科學(xué)取得了許多進(jìn)展，從而形成了現(xiàn)代技術(shù)。

第三，愛(ài)因斯坦深信科學(xué)家必須具有道德和社會(huì)意識(shí)。這樣，他鼓舞了整個(gè)一代的科學(xué)

家，使他們積極參加共產(chǎn)主義運(yùn)動(dòng)。

愛(ài)因斯坦在資產(chǎn)階級(jí)的筆下被描繪為一個(gè)“天才”，他的理論是如此地難于理解，以致

只有少數(shù)最杰出的科學(xué)家才能懂得。但是，他本人不同意別人把他高置于他人之上的那些做

法。他的謙遜態(tài)度是眾所周知的，他常常對(duì)來(lái)訪者強(qiáng)調(diào)說(shuō)，如果沒(méi)有他的話，別人也肯定能

夠取得他那樣的成就。

事實(shí)上，愛(ài)因斯坦的相對(duì)論以及他的其他科學(xué)論著稍加研究是不難懂得的。但是除了學(xué)

習(xí)愛(ài)因斯坦的理論外，他對(duì)于利用科學(xué)作為一種工具來(lái)解放人類的總的態(tài)度是每個(gè)人能夠?qū)W

習(xí)的，而且也是應(yīng)該學(xué)習(xí)的。

(2)

從現(xiàn)在到本世紀(jì)末，將有許多令人興奮的發(fā)展，同樣也有許多困難的問(wèn)題，需要加以處

理。也許最為迫切的問(wèn)題是提供足夠的糧食。到2000年世界人口預(yù)期將達(dá)到70億，但是科

學(xué)家們已經(jīng)培育出各種小麥、稻谷和牲畜的優(yōu)良品種。他們還在實(shí)驗(yàn)只用化合物和水的混合

劑來(lái)培植作物的技術(shù)，到那里就可不需一般的土壤了。世界將面對(duì)著的另一問(wèn)題是處理廢物。

有一個(gè)解決辦法就是在焚化爐中用高溫的廢物燒掉。這種方法的一個(gè)新發(fā)展，可能在將來(lái)證

明極為有用，即是以這些焚火爐來(lái)產(chǎn)生蒸汽動(dòng)力。事實(shí)是，任何新的能源都將是非常受歡迎

的，因?yàn)槭鸵迅胁蛔?。要解決能源問(wèn)題，科學(xué)家們也許會(huì)高潮更多地利用太陽(yáng)能。

諸如激光學(xué)和低溫學(xué)，某些科學(xué)領(lǐng)域的可能作用是難以想象的，它們兩者已經(jīng)有若干用

途。低溫學(xué)的過(guò)冷作用將液態(tài)氮及某些氣體變成“超流體”，將某些金屬變成“超導(dǎo)體”，使

它們沒(méi)有電阻，從而可以在好些方面改變世界面貌。激光，以它強(qiáng)烈的光束，可在金剛石上

鉆孔,也可以很好地加以控制來(lái)進(jìn)行難做的眼科手術(shù)。問(wèn)題是它將被大量用于和平的目的呢，

還是用途致使的武器。

但最驚人的發(fā)展也許將出現(xiàn)在宇宙飛行方面。過(guò)去的困難之一在于代價(jià)太高。但現(xiàn)在航

天飛機(jī)正在發(fā)展，這種航天飛機(jī)可以使用多次而不是僅僅一次而已。人類已經(jīng)到過(guò)月球。也

許到本世紀(jì)末人類對(duì)金星或火星等將有一個(gè)精細(xì)的觀察.

1981年全國(guó)碩士研究生入學(xué)統(tǒng)一考試英語(yǔ)試題

SectionIStructureandVocabulary

Ineachquestion,decidewhichofthefivechoicesgivenwouldmostsuitablycompletethe

sentence.Circletheletterbeforeyourchoice.Onlyonechoiceistobecircled(14points)

EXAMPLE:

Theguestssaidthattheywouldn'tmind.

[A]tohavealittlelightmusic[B]havingalittlelightmusic[C]havealittlelightmusic[D]ifthey

havealittlelightmusic[E]thattheyhavealittlelightmusicANSWER:|B|

1.Shehasbeenworkinginthisfactory.

[A]after1968[B]in1968[C]since1968[D]for1968[E]until1968

2.Wecan'tunderstandwhyheavoidedtous.

[A]tospeak[B]speech[C]havingspoken[D]speaking[E]tohavespoken

3.Iaminterestedinyouhavetoldme.

[A]which|B|allthat|C|allwhat|D|that|E]everythingofwhich

4.Itisbecausesheistooinexperiencedshedoesnotknowhowtodealwiththe

situation.

[A]so[B]that[C]sothat[D]therefore[E]thatiswhy

5.Hewasafraidhewouldhavetoherinvitationtotheparty.

[A]refute[B]refuse[C]return[D]ignore[E]decline

6.Shewantstoknowwhetherthemeasureshavebeenagreed.

[AJto|B|with[C]about[D]upon[E]over

7.Sincesheisangry,we.

[A]hadbetterleavingheralone[B]shouldleaveheralone[C]mightaswellleaveheralone[D]

hadratherleaveheralone[E]mustleaveheralone

8.IwishItothemovieswithyoulastnight.

[A]went[B]didgo[C]couldgo[D]havegone[E]couldhavegone

9.Scarcelyhadtheysettledthemselvesintheirseatsinthetheatrethecurtainwent

up.

[A]than[B]when[C]before[D]assoonas[E]as

10.Writeclearlyyourteachercanunderstandyoucorrectly.

[AJsince[B]for[C]because[D]sothat[E]then

11.Ifthedoctorhadbeenavailable,thechild.

[A]wouldnotdie[B]wouldnothavedied[C]couldnotdie[D]couldnothavedied[E]shouldnot

havedied

12.Fdjustassoonrudelytoher.

[A]thatyouwon'tspeak[B]yournotspeaking[C]younotspeak[D]youhadn'tspoken[E]you

didn'tspeak

13.Tenyearshadelapsed.Ifoundshehad.

[A]alittlewhitehair[B]somewhitehair[C]muchwhitehair[DJafewwhitehair[E]afewwhite

hairs

14.Theelectricshaverbeforeitcanbeused.

[A]needsrepairing[B]requirestoberepaired[C]shouldbeinrepair[D]hastoberepairable[E]

mustrepair

SectionIIError-detection

Eachquestionconsistsofasentencewithfiveunderlinedparts(wordsorphrases).Thesepartsare

labeled[A],[B],[C],[D]and[E].Choosethepartofthesentencethatisincorrectandcirclethe

letterofyourchoice.Onlyonechoiceistobemarked.(8points)

EXAMPLE:

Wedjdtheresearchasgoodaswecould:howerver,itdidnotturnouttobe

ABCDE

satisfactory.

ANSWER:[B]

15.Thepresidentofthecollege,togetherwiththedeans,areplanningaconferenceforthe

ABCD

purposeoflayingdowncertainregulations.

E

16.Inordertoconvincethedirectortoagreewiththeirplan,theybroughtforthanumberof

ABC

reportswhichsupportedtheirargument.

DE

17.Hismethodofdoingresearchworkishardlyappreciated;hefeelsinferiorthanothers.

ABCDE

18.Aseriesofdebatesbetweenthelecturerswerescheduledforthenextweekend.

ABCDE

19.Theautomobileindustryismanufacturinganewtypeofamotorthatwillconsumeless

ABCD

gasolineandcausemuchlesspollution.

E

20.WhenhisplanearrivesontheairportinShanghai,IshallalreadyhaveleflforBeijing.

ABCDE

21.Theindustrialtrendisinthedirectionofmoremachinesand2sspeople.

ABCDE

22.Theworkerswerealreadytoworklongbeforehearrived.

ABCDE

SectionIIISentenceMaking

Combinethegivenwordsandphrasesintosentences.(4points)

EXAMPLE:

Hissons/he/theirgrandmother/tosee/justbeforehislastbirthday/take

ANSWER:

Justbeforehislastbirthdayhetookhissonstoseetheirgrandmother.

23.lastmonth/inEurope/travel/she/since

24.thedecision/asfinal/frankly/should/notconsider

25.tothestranger/talk/there/stand/awhileago/he

26.thiskindof/can/getusedto/1/never/food/eat

SectionIVVerbForms

Fillintheblankswiththeappropriateformsoftheverbgiveninparentheses.(14points)

EXAMPLE:

叮hose,“hesaid,(point)tothebooks(pile)onthedesk,"

(need)overtherenow.”

ANSWER:pointing:piled;areneeded

Thousandsofyears(pass)sincethen;butpeoplestill(like)

(tell)thestoryofLeonidasandthebravethreehundredwho(dedicate)theirlivesto

theircountry.

ANSWER:havepassed:like:totell;dedicated

27.Thepublicdemandedthattheprices(reduce).

28.Withtheguide(lead)theway,wesetoffonfootintothedarknight.

29.Ineedthatbookbadly.Ifyougotothebookshopthisafternoon,pleaseremember

(buy)acopyforme.

30.(arrive)homeatdaybreak,hefeltdeadtired.He(work)allnight.

31.(exhaust)byhiswork,helaydownonthebedtotakearest.

32.We'Hhavetotakearoundaboutcourse,fortheroad(repair).

33.Nodecision(make)aboutthatmatteryet.We(stillconsider)it.

34.(meet)Tomearliertoday,Idon'tneedtoseehimagain.

35.Ifyou(go)onatthepresentrate,you(use)upallthepetroleumbythe

endofthemonth.

36.Thebuildingissaid(destroy)inafiretwoyearsago.

37.Thecar(go)atthepresentspeeduntilitreachesthefootofthemountainatabout

teno'clocktonight.

SectionVClozeTest

Fillintheblankswithproperwords(10points)

Inrecentyearstelevisionhasbecomethemostpopularformofentertainment.Itdoesnot

lookasifitwillbe38popularintheworldofthefuture.Infactitlooksasiftelevision

willbecomemorepopularthanever.Newsystemsoftelevisionhavebeenmadepossible

39thediscoveryofthelaser.Alaserisabeamoflightthathasmanystrangequalities.By

usingalaser,itispossibletothroweverylargeandverycleartelevisionpictureson40a

screen.Thesepicturesmaybeaslargeasthreemeters41Manypeoplecouldwatchthis

kindoftelevisiontogether.

Laserbeamshavealsomadeverythintelevisionsets42Thesesetscanbehungon

thewallofaroomlikealargepicture.Anotherdevelopmentinthefuturewillbethree

dimensionaltelevision;thepicturewilllookmore'real'43itwillhavedepthaswellas

heightandlength.

Inthenearfutureyouwillbeabletobuyyourfavouritetelevisionprogrammesalready

44ontapes.Theywillbelikethetapes45areusedinsmallcassettetaperecorders

today.Youwillalsobeabletorecordtelevisionprogrammesandplaythem46later.The

laserbeamwillmake47possible.

SectionVIChinese-EnglishTranslation

TranslatethefollowingintoEnglish.(10points)

48.這門課我們?cè)綄W(xué)越喜歡。

49.這家工廠只能供應(yīng)我們所需要的百分之三十。

50.他們一直談到入睡。

51.許多人以為電是燃料，但事實(shí)上并非如此。

52.我國(guó)的社會(huì)主義現(xiàn)代化是一項(xiàng)我們必須努力完成的任務(wù)。

SectionVIIEnglish-ChineseTranslation

ChooseoneofthefollowingthreepassagesandtranslateitintoChinese.(40points)

(1)

TheUnitedKingdomisamonarchical(君主政體的)State.Itisoneoftheindependent

membersoftheCommonwealth(theQueenisrecognizedasheadoftheCommonwealth),anda

memberoftheEuropeanCommunity.

TheoriginsandtraditionsoftheUnitedKingdomaretobefoundineachofthefourparts

thatmakeupthecountry:England,Wales,ScotlandandNorthernIreland.Englandwasunitedasa

kingdomathousandyearsago,andWalesbecamepartofthekingdomduringthemiddleages.

Thethrones(王位)ofEnglandandScotlandwereunitedin1603,andin1707legislationpassed

inthetwocountriesprovidedfortheestablishmentofasingleParliamentofGreatBritainwith

supremeauthoritybothinEnglandandWalesandinScotland.Irelandhadhadlinkswiththe

kingdomofEnglandsincethethirteenthcentury,andin1800thecreationoftheUnitedKingdom

wascompletedbyaunionjoiningtheIrishParliamenttothatofGreatBritain.In1922Southern

Ireland(nowtheIrishRepublic)becameaself-governingcountry.ThesixcountiesofNorthern

Irelandhadin1920beengiventheirownsubordinateParliament,andvotedtoremainwithinthe

UnitedKingdom.

TheUnitedKingdomParliamentatWestminsterinLondon——withanelectedchamber

comprisingmembersfromEnglish,Scottish,WelshandNorthernIrelandconstituencies(選舉區(qū))

——thereforerepresentspeoplesharingveryvariedbackgroundsandtraditions.Ithasultimate

authorityforgovernmentandlaw-making,butadministrativearrangementshavedevelopedin

suchawayastotakeaccountoftheparticularneedsofdifferentareas.

EnglandandWalesontheonehandandScotlandontheotherhavedifferentsystemsoflaw,

differentcourtsystems,differenteducationsystems,differentsystemsoflocalgovernmentand,

formostdomesticmatters,differentgovernmentdepartments.

(2)

Asmorepeopleliveclosertogether,andastheyusemachinestoproduceleisure,theyfind

thattheirleisure,andeventheirworkinghours,becomespoiltbyaby-productoftheirmachines

一namely,noise.Noiseisnowadaysinthenews;ithasacquiredpoliticalstatus,andpublic

opinionisdemanding,moreandmoreinsistently,thatsomethingmustbedoneaboutit.

Tocontrolnoiseistodemandmuchself-discipline(annoyancearisesoftenfromlackof

commoncourtesy),asenseofproportion(thereisusuallyaconflictofinterestifanoiseistobe

stopped),theexpenditureofmoney(anditisfarmoreeconomicaltodothisearlyratherthatlate),

andfinally,technicalknowledge.

Technicaldifficultiesoftenarisefromthesubjective-objectivenatureoftheproblem.Youcan

definetheexcessivespeedofamotor-carintermsofapointerreadingonaspeedometer.Butcan

youdefineexcessivenoiseinthesameway?Youfindthatwithanyexistingsimple“noise-meter”,

vehicleswhicharejudgedtobeequallynoisymayshowconsiderabledifferenceonthemeter.

Thoughtheidealcurefornoiseistostopitatitssource,thismayinmanycasesbe

impossible.Thenextremedyistoabsorbitonitswaytotheear.

Domesticnoisesmayperhapsbecontrolledbyforethoughtandcourtesy,andindustrial

noisesbygoodplanningandtechnicalimprovement.Butifwearegoingtoallowfast

motor-cyclesandheavydiesellorriestopasscontinuouslytroughresidentialandbusinessdistricts,

thecommunitymustdecideonthecontrolitneedstoexercise,fbrinthelongrunithasgottopay

forit.Andifanationistotakepartinmodernairtransport,itmustenterintointernational

agreementsonthenoisecontrolmeasuresitwillimposeatitsairports—andherethecostofany

realcontrolistobemeasuredinmillionsofdollars.

(3)

About350yearsagoGalileomadeatelescopeandlookedthroughitatthesun.Whathesaw

bothsurprisedandfrightenedhim,forhesawdarkspotsonthesunwhichatoncesuggestedto

himthatGodhadnotmadetheworldquiteasperfectashehadpreviouslybelieved.Hehesitated

tomakehisdiscoveryknown.Meanwhileotherscientistsnoticedthesamelackofsolarperfection

andproclaimed(宣布)thefact.

ButGalileocontinuedhisobservationsandwassoonrewardedwithanotherdiscovery.

Fixinghisattentiononasinglesunspot(太陽(yáng)黑子)group,henoticedthatinafewdaysithad

movedinposition,justasifthesunitselfwereturning.Afterwardshefoundasunspotgroup

whichlivedlongenoughtodisappearfromviewonthewesternlimb(邊緣)ofthesun,to

re-appearonitseasternlimb,andfinallytoregainitsoldposition.Thisledhimtoconcludethat

thesunitselfwasrotatingandthatthetimeittooktomakeonecompleteturnwasabout

twenty-fivetotwenty-sevendays.ActuallyweknowfromthedrawingswhichGalileomadeof

sunspotsthattheremusthavebeenquitealotofthematthetimeofhisobservationsintheyears

1611and1612.Ifhehadgoneonmakinghisdrawingsintheyearsthatimmediatelyfollowed,we

knowthathewouldalmostcertainlyhavenoticedthatsunspotswerebecomingfewerandsmaller.

Buthebecameinterestedinotherthingsandsohefailedtorecognizethatthereisakindof

long-termcycleinsunspotactivity,thesunspotsincreasinganddecreasingastheyearsgoon.

Laterthisdiscoveryofthesunspotactivitywasmadebyoneofthemostpatientobserv