英語(二)歷年翻譯和閱讀

考研英語（二）歷年翻譯真題

2007年真題

Poweringthegreatongoingchangesofourtimeistheriseofhumancreativityasthedefining

featureofeconomiclife.Creativityhascometobevalued,becausenewtechnologies,new

industriesandnewwealthflowfromit.Andasaresult,ourlivesandsocietyhavebeguntoecho

withcreativeideas.Itisourcommitmenttocreativityinitsvarieddimensionsthatformsthe

underlyingspiritofourage.

Creativityisessentialtothewayweliveandworktoday,andinmanysensesalwayshas

been.Thebigadvancesinstandardofliving—nottomentionthebigcompetitiveadvantagesin

themarketplace-alwayshavecomefrom“betterrecipes,notjustmorecooking?5Onemight

arguethat'snotstrictlytrue.Onemightpointout,forinstance,thatduringthelongperiodfrom

theearlydaysontheIndustrialRevolutiontomoderntimes,muchofthegrowthinproductivity

andmaterialwealthintheindustrialnationscamenotjustfromcreativeinventionslikethesteam

engine,butfromthewidespreadapplicationof“cookinginquantity^^businessmethodslike

massivedivisionoflabor,concentrationofassets,verticalintegrationandeconomiesofscale.But

thosemethodsthemselveswerecreativedevelopments.

2008年真題

Thetermubusinessmodel“firstcameintowidespreadusewiththeinventionofpersonal

computerandthespreadsheet（空白表格程序）.Beforethespreadsheet,businessplanningusually

meantproducingasingleforecast.Atbest,youdidalittlesensitivityanalysisaroundthe

projection.Thespreadsheetusheredinamuchmoreanalyticapproachtoplanningbecauseevery

majorlineitemcouldbepulledapart,itscomponentsandsubcomponentsanalyzedandtested.

Youcouldaskwhatifquestionsaboutthecriticalassumptionsonwhichyourbusiness

depended-forexample,whatifcustomersaremoreprice-sensitivethanwethought?-andwitha

fewkeystrokes,youcouldseehowanychangewouldplayoutoneveryaspectofthewhole.In

otherwords,youcouldmodelthebehaviorofabusiness.Beforethecomputerchangedthenature

ofbusinessplanning,mostsuccessfulbusinessmodelswerecreatedmorebyaccidentthanby

elaboratedesign.Byenablingcompaniestotietheirmarketplaceinsightsmuchmoretightlytothe

resultingeconomics,spreadsheetmadeitpossibletomodelbusinessbeforetheywerelaunched.

2009年真題

Withthenation'sfinancialsystemteeteringonacliff,thecompensationarrangementsfor

executivesofthebigbanksandotherfinancialfirmsarecomingundercloseexaminationagain.

Bankers,excessiverisk-takingisasignificantcauseofthisfinancialcrisisandhas

contributedtoothersinthepast.Inthiscase,itwasfueledbylowinterestratesandkeptgoingby

afalsesenseofsecuritycreatedbyadebt-fueledbubbleintheeconomy.

Mortgagelendersgladlylentenormoussumstothosewhocouldnotaffordtopaythemback,

dividingtheloansandsellingthemofftothenextfinancialinstitutionalongthechain,whichtook

advantageofthesamehigh-techsecuritizationtoloadonmoreriskymortgage-basedassets.

Financialregulationwillhavetocatchupwiththemostirresponsiblepracticesthatledbanks

downinthisroad,inhopesofavertingthenextcrisis,whichislikelytoinvolvedifferentfinancial

techniquesanddifferentsortsofassets.Butitisworthexaminingtherootproblemof

compensationschemesthataretiedtoshort-termprofitsandrevenues,andthusencouragebankers

totakeirresponsiblelevelofrisk.

2010年真題

Sustainabilityhasbecomeapopularwordthesedays,buttoTedNing,theconceptwillalways

havepersonalmeaning.Havingenduredapainfulperiodofunsustainabilityinhisownlifemade

itcleartohimthatsustainability-orientedvaluesmustbeexpressedthrougheverydayactionand

choice.

Ningrecallsspendingaconfusingyearinthelate1990ssellinginsurance.He'dbeenthrough

thedot-comboomandbustand,desperateforajob,signedonwithaBoulderagency.

Itdidn'tgowell.4tItwasareallybadmovebecausethat'snotmypassion,saysNing,whose

dilemmaaboutthejobtranslated,predictably,intoalackofsales.44Iwasmiserable.1hadsomuch

anxietythatIwouldwakeupinthemiddleofthenightandstareattheceiling.Ihadnomoney

andneededthejob.Everyonesaid,'Justwait,you'llturnthecorner,giveitsome

2011年真題

Whowouldhavethoughtthat,globally,theITindustryproducesaboutthesamevolumeof

greenhousegasesastheworld'sairlinesdo—roughly2percentofallCO2emissions?

Manyeverydaytaskstakeasurprisingtollontheenvironment.AGooglesearchcanleak

between0.2and7.0gramsofCO2,dependingonhowmanyattemptsareneededtogetthe“right”

answer.Todeliverresultstoitsusersquickly,then,Googlehastomaintainvastdatacenters

aroundtheworld,packedwithpowerfulcomputers.WhileproducinglargequantitiesofCO2,

thesecomputersemitagreatdealofheat,sothecentersneedtobewellair-conditioned,which

usesevenmoreenergy.

However,Googleandotherbigtechprovidersmonitortheirefficiencycloselyandmake

improvements.Monitoringisthefirststepontheroadtoreduction,butthereismuchmoretobe

done,andnotjustbybigcompanies.

英語（二）歷年翻譯真題

參考答案

2007年

人類創(chuàng)造力的不斷進(jìn)步已經(jīng)成為我們經(jīng)濟(jì)生活中的突出特點(diǎn)，正是它在推動(dòng)著我們時(shí)代

中正在進(jìn)行的各種變化。由于許多新的技術(shù)，新興的工業(yè)以及新的財(cái)富都源自創(chuàng)造力，所以

它的價(jià)值業(yè)已凸現(xiàn)出來.因此，各種創(chuàng)新的觀念開始在我們的生活和社會(huì)中傳播開來。正是

人們在各個(gè)領(lǐng)域?qū)?chuàng)造力的認(rèn)同才形成了我們這個(gè)時(shí)代的精神基礎(chǔ)。

創(chuàng)造力對我們?nèi)缃竦纳詈凸ぷ鞣绞绞侵陵P(guān)重要的，并在很多方面早己是這樣：生活

水平的重大提高——更不用說在市場中的巨大競爭優(yōu)勢一都是來自“更好的菜譜，而不僅僅

是更多的烹制品

有人認(rèn)為這并不完全正確。比如，有人指出，從工業(yè)革命早期到現(xiàn)代化這一漫長時(shí)期

在工業(yè)化國家，生產(chǎn)力和物質(zhì)財(cái)富的很多增長不單單來自于像蒸汽機(jī)這樣有創(chuàng)造力的發(fā)明，

而來自于廣泛使用“數(shù)量烹飪”的商業(yè)方法，比如大規(guī)模的勞動(dòng)分工、資產(chǎn)的集中、縱向整合

和規(guī)模經(jīng)濟(jì)。單那些方法本身都是具有創(chuàng)造力的發(fā)展。

2008年

隨著個(gè)人計(jì)算機(jī)和空白表格程序的發(fā)明，“商業(yè)模式“這個(gè)術(shù)語首次得到了大規(guī)模的使

用?？瞻妆砀癯绦虮话l(fā)明前，商業(yè)計(jì)劃通常意味著進(jìn)行一次單一的預(yù)測，充其量，你也只能

在此單一預(yù)測的基礎(chǔ)上再做一些敏感性分析。空白表格程序開啟了一種更具分析性的規(guī)劃方

法，其原因是空白表格程序中的每一行中都可以被拆分，其中的每一個(gè)部分及亞組成部分都

可以被拆分和測試。你可以對商業(yè)所依賴的關(guān)鍵設(shè)想提出“如果……會(huì)怎么樣？”的問題，

例如，“如果顧客對價(jià)格的敏感度超過了我們的預(yù)期怎么辦”，只需敲擊幾下鍵盤，你就可以

看到某個(gè)變化對全局的各個(gè)方面可能產(chǎn)生怎么樣的影響，換句話說，你可以對商業(yè)的行為建

立模型。在計(jì)算機(jī)改變了商業(yè)規(guī)劃本質(zhì)之前,絕大部分成功的商業(yè)規(guī)劃與其說是精心策劃的，

不如說是運(yùn)氣使然?？瞻妆砀癯绦?qū)⒐镜氖袌龆床炝εc相應(yīng)的經(jīng)濟(jì)結(jié)構(gòu)更為緊密地聯(lián)系起

來，從而使公司在商業(yè)運(yùn)營開始前建立商業(yè)模型變?yōu)榭赡堋?/p>

2009年

由于國家金融體制處于危機(jī)動(dòng)蕩的邊緣，一些大銀行和金融機(jī)構(gòu)中的高級管理人員的

補(bǔ)充金計(jì)劃就受到密切關(guān)注。

銀行家們過度冒險(xiǎn)是導(dǎo)致金融危機(jī)至關(guān)重要的原因，在歷史上也有類似情況。在這種

情況下，一般是由低息引起并造成持續(xù)的錯(cuò)覺，其實(shí)是一種債務(wù)泡沫經(jīng)濟(jì)。

抵押貸款人很樂意把大量資金借給無力償還的人，再將貸款分割，并沿這樣的鏈條出

售給下一個(gè)金融機(jī)構(gòu)，這些做法都再利用高科技證券業(yè)，結(jié)果，卻增加了抵押資產(chǎn)的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。

金融管理規(guī)定必須能應(yīng)對這種最不負(fù)責(zé)任的并導(dǎo)致銀行損失慘重的做法，以期扭轉(zhuǎn)下

一?個(gè)危機(jī)，而這下一個(gè)危機(jī)很可能包括有各種類型的金融技術(shù)和資產(chǎn)。但值得審視補(bǔ)償金計(jì)

劃的根本問題，因?yàn)槟鞘茄矍皢栴}，但卻讓銀行家門不負(fù)責(zé)任地甘冒風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。

2010年

最近，“承受力”成了一個(gè)流行詞，但對寧泰德來說，他對該詞的含義有自己的親身體

會(huì)。在經(jīng)歷了一段無法承受的痛苦生活后，他清楚地認(rèn)識(shí)到，旨在提高承受力的價(jià)值觀必須

在日常的行為和抉擇中才能得以體現(xiàn)。

寧泰德回憶起九十年代后期銷售保險(xiǎn)那困惑的一年。那一年，他經(jīng)歷了互聯(lián)網(wǎng)泡沫的膨

脹和破滅，他急需找到一份工作，因此就與博爾德公司簽了約。

但情況并不順利?！斑@的確是糟糕的一步，因?yàn)樗げ黄鹞业墓ぷ鳠崆椋睂幪┑抡f。

不出所料，工作上的進(jìn)退維谷造成他銷售業(yè)績不佳?！拔液芡纯?，愁腸百結(jié)，常常在半夜驚

醒，望著天花板發(fā)愣。我身無分文，需要這份工作。每個(gè)人都在說，'再等等吧，過一段時(shí)

間情況會(huì)好轉(zhuǎn)的。

2011年

有誰能夠想到，全世界信息技術(shù)行業(yè)產(chǎn)生的溫室氣體量與全球航空公司所產(chǎn)生的一樣

多，大約為二氧化碳總排量的2%。

很多日常工作對環(huán)境的損害是驚人的。根據(jù)人們得到“正確”答案所需查詢次數(shù)的不同，

在谷歌上搜索一次便會(huì)產(chǎn)生0.2到7.0克的二氧化碳。為了將搜索結(jié)果快速傳遞給用戶，谷

歌必須使用功能強(qiáng)大的計(jì)算機(jī)系統(tǒng)來維護(hù)全球各大數(shù)據(jù)庫中心。這些計(jì)算機(jī)產(chǎn)生大量二氧化

碳的同時(shí)，還釋放出了許多熱量，所以數(shù)據(jù)庫中心又必須裝備很好的散熱設(shè)備，這樣就會(huì)使

用更多的能源。

不過，谷歌和其他大型技術(shù)提供商們嚴(yán)密監(jiān)控他們的效率問題，并做了許多改善。但監(jiān)

控只是減排道路上的第一步，還有很多工作要做，而這也并非只是大公司的任務(wù)。

考研英語（二）歷年閱讀真題

2006年

Text1

Officejobsareamongthepositionshardesthitbycompumation（計(jì)算機(jī)自動(dòng)化）.Word

processorsandtypistswillloseabout93,000jobsoverthenextfewyears,while57,000secretarial

jobswillvanish.BlamethePC:Today,manyexecutivestypetheirownmemosandcarrytheir

“secretaries“inthepalmsoftheirhands.Timeisalsohardforstockclerks,whoseranksare

expectedtodecreaseby68,000.Andemployeesinmanufacturingfirmsandwholesalersarebeing

replacedwithcomputerizedsystems.

Butnoteveryonewholosesajobwillendupintheunemploymentline.Manywillshiftto

growingpositionswithintheirowncompanies.Whennewtechnologiesshookupthetelecom

business,telephoneoperatorJudyDoughertypursuedretraining.Sheisnowacommunications

technician,earningabout64,000peryear.Ofcourse,ifyou'vebeenatollboothcollectorforthe

past30years,andyoufindyourselfreplacedbyanE-ZPassmachine,itmaybeoflittle

consolation（安慰）toknowthatthetelecomfieldisbooming.

Andthat'sjustit:Theserviceeconomyisfading;welcometotheexpertise（專門知識(shí)）

economy.Tosucceedinthenewjobmarket,youmustbeabletohandlecomplexproblems.

Indeed,allbutoneofthe50highest-payingoccupations—air-trafficcontroller-demandatleasta

bachelor'sdegree.

Forthosewithjustahighschooldiploma（畢業(yè)證書）,It'sgoingtogettoughertofinda

well-payingjob.Sincefewerfactoryandclericaljobswillbeavailable,what'sleftwillbethejobs

thatcompumationcan'tkill:Computerscan'tcleanoffices,orcareforAlzheimer'spatients（老年

癡呆病人）.But,sincemostpeoplehavetheskillstofillthosepositions,thewagesstaypainfully

low,meaningcompumationcoulddriveanevendeeperwedge（楔子）betweentherichandpoor.

Thebestadvicenow:Neverstoplearning,andkeepupwithnewtechnology.

Forbusyadults,ofcourse,thatcanbetough.Thegoodnewsisthattheverytechnology

that'sreducingsomanyjobsisalsomakingiteasiertogobacktoschool—withouthavingtositin

aclassroom.So-calledinternetdistancelearningishot,withmorethanthreemillionstudents

currentlyenrolled,andit'sgainingcredibilitywithemployers.

Areyouatriskoflosingyourjobtoacomputer?CheckthefederalBureauofLabor

Statistics,OccupationalOutlookHandbook,whichisavailableonlineat.

41.Fromthefirstparagraphwecaninferthatallofthefollowingpersonsareeasilythrowninto

unemploymentEXCEPT___.

A.secretariesB.stockclerksC.managersD.wholesalers

42.Inthesecondparagraphtheauthormentionsthetollboothcollectorto__.

A.meanhewillgetbenefitsfromthetelecomfield

B.showheistoooldtoshifttoanewposition

C.consolehimonhavingbeenreplacedbyamachine

D.blamethePCforhisunemployment

43.Bysaying4pumationcoulddriveanevendeeperwedgebetweentherichandpoor”

（Line5,Para.4）,theauthormeans___.

A.peoplearegettingricherandricher

B.therewillbeasmallgapbetweenrichandpoor

C.thegapbetweenrichandpoorisgettinglargerandlarger

D.it'stimetocloseupthegapbetweentherichandpoor

44.Whatistheauthor'sattitudetowardscomputers?

A.positiveB.negativeC.neutralD.prejudiced

45.Whichofthefollowingmightserveasthebesttitleofpassage?

A.BlamingthePC

B.TheBoomingTelecomField

C.InternetDistanceLearning

D.KeepingupwithCompumation

Text2

Tensofthousandsof18-year-oldswillgraduatethisyearandbehandedmeaningless

diplomas.Thesediplomaswon'tlookanydifferentfromthoseawardedtheirluckierclassmates.

Theirvaliditywillbequestionedonlywhentheiremployersdiscoverthatthesegraduatesare

semiliterate（半文盲）.

Eventuallyafortunatefewwillfindtheirwayintoeducational-repairshops-adult-literacy

programs,suchastheonewhereIteachbasicgrammarandwriting.There,high-schoolgraduates

andhigh-schooldropoutspursuinggraduate-equivalencycertificateswilllearntheskillsthey

shouldhavelearnedinschool.Theywillalsodiscovertheyhavebeencheatedbyoureducational

system.

Iwillneverforgetateacherwhogottheattentionofoneofmychildrenbyrevealingthe

trumpcardoffailure.Ouryoungest,aworld-classcharmer,didlittletodevelophisintellectual

talentsbutalwaysgotby.UntilMrs.Stifter.

Oursonwashigh-schoolseniorwhenhehadherforEnglish.4iHesitsinthebackoftheroom

talkingtohisfriends/shetoldme,“Whydon'tyoumovehimtothefrontrow?”Iurged,

believingtheembarrassmentwouldgethimtosettledown.Mrs.Stiftersaid,"Idon'tmoveseniors.

Iflunk（使...不及格）them."Ourson'sacademiclifeflashedbeforemyeyes.Noteacherhadever

threatenedhim.BythetimeIgothomeIwasfeelingprettygoodaboutthis.Itwasaradical

approachfbrthesetimes,but,well,Whynot?"She'sgoingtoflunkyou."Itoldmyson.Ididnot

discussitanyfurther.SuddenlyEnglishbecameapriority（頭等重要）inhislife.Hefinishedout

thesemesterwithanA.

Iknowoneexampledoesn'tmakeacase,butatnightIseeaparadeofstudentswhoare

angryfbrhavingbeenpassedalonguntiltheycouldnolongerevenpretendtokeepup.Ofaverage

intelligenceorbetter,theyeventuallyquitschool,concludingtheyweretoodumbtofinish."I

shouldhavebeenheldback,“isacommentIhearfrequently.Evensadderarethosestudentswho

arehigh-schoolgraduateswhosaytomeafterafewweeksofclass,don'tknowhowIevergot

ahigh-schooldiploma.^^

Passingstudentswhohavenotmasteredtheworkcheatsthemandtheemployerswhoexpect

graduatestohavebasicskills.Weexcusethisdishonestbehaviorbysayingkidscan'tlearnifthey

comefromterribleenvironments.Nooneseemstostoptothinkthatmostkidsdon'tputschool

firstontheirlistunlesstheyperceivesomethingisatrisk.They'dratherbesailing.

ManystudentsIseeatnighthavedecidedtomakeeducationapriority.Theyaremotivated

bythedesireforabetterjobortheneedtohangontotheonethey'vegot.Theyhaveahealthy

fearoffailure.

Peopleofallagescanriseabovetheirproblems,buttheyneedtohaveareasontodoso.

Youngpeoplegenerallydon'thavethematuritytovalueeducationinthesameway.Myadult

studentsvalueit.Butfearoffailurecanmotivateboth.

46.Whatisthesubjectofthisessay?

A.Viewpointonlearning.

B.Aqualifiedteacher.

C.Theimportanceofexamination.

D.Thegenerationgap.

47.HowdidMrs.Siftergettheattentionofoneoftheauthor'schildren?

A.flunkinghim

B.movinghisseat

C.blaminghim

D.playingcardwithhim

48.Theauthorbelievesthatthemosteffectivewayforateacheristo_.

A.purifytheteachingenvironments

B.setupcooperationbetweenteachersandparents

C.holdbackstudent

D.motivatestudent

49.Fromthepassagewecandrawtheconclusionthattheauthor\attitudetowardflunkingis_.

A.negativeB.positiveC.biasedD.indifferent

50.Judgingfromthecontent,thispassageisprobablywrittenfor_.

A.administratorsB.studentsC.teachersD.parents

Text3

Nameshavegainedincreasingimportanceinthecompetitiveworldofhighereducation.As

collegesstriveformarketshare,theyarelookingfornamesthatprojecttheimagetheywantor

reflectthechangestheyhopetomake.TrentonStateCollege,forexample,becametheCollegeof

NewJerseynineyearsagowhenitbeganraisingadmissionsstandardsandappealingtostudents

fromthroughoutthestate.

“AHIhearinhighereducationis,brand,brand,brand,“saidTimWesterbeck,who

specializesinbrandingandismanagingdirectorofLipmanHearne,amarketingfirmbasedin

Chicagothatworkswithuniversitiesandothernonprofitorganizations."Therehasbeenasea

changeoverthelast10years.Marketingusedtobealmostadirtywordinhighereducation.”

Notalleffortsatnamechangesaresuccessful,ofcourse.In1997,theNewSchoolfbrSocial

ResearchbecameNewSchoolUniversitytoreflectitsgrowthintoacollectionofeightcolleges,

offeringalistofmajorsthatincludespsychology,music,urbanstudiesandmanagement.ButNew

YorkerscontinuedtocallittheNewSchool.

Now,afterspendinganundisclosedsumonanonlinesurveyandamarketingconsultant's

creationof“namingstructures,^^“brandarchitecture^^and“identitysystems,^^theuniversityhas

comeupwithanewname:theNewSchool.BeginningMonday,itwilladoptnewlogos（標(biāo)識(shí)）,

banners,businesscardsandevennewnamesfortheindividualcolleges,alltoincludethewords

“theNewSchool.”

Changesinnamesgenerallyrevealsignificantshiftsinhowacollegewantstobeperceived.

InalteringitsnamefromCalState,Hayward,toCalState,EastBay,theuniversityhopedto

projectitsexpandingroleintwomostlysuburbancountrieseastofSanFrancisco.

TheUniversityofSouthernColorado,astateinstitution,becameColoradoStateUniversityat

Pueblotwoyearsago,hopingtohighlightmanyinternalchanges,includingofferingmore

graduateprogramsandsettinghigheradmissionsstandards.

BeaverCollegeturneditselfintoArcadiaUniversityin2001fbrseveralreasons:tobreakthe

connectionwithitspastasawomen'scollege,topromoteitsgrowthintoafull-fledged（完全成熟

的）universityandofficialsacknowledged,toeliminatesomejokesaboutthecollege'soldname

onlate-nighttelevisionand“morningzoo”radioshows.

Manycollegeofficialssaidchanginganameandimagecouldproducesubstantialresults.At

Arcadia,inadditiontotheriseinapplications,theaveragestudent'stestscorehasincreasedby60

points,JuliRoebeck,anArcadiaspokeswoman,said.

51.WhichofthefollowingisNOTthereasonforcollegestochangetheirnames?

A.Theypreferhighereducationcompetition.

B.Theytrytogainadvantageinmarketshare.

C.Theywanttoprojecttheirimage.

D.Theyhopetomakesomechanges.

52.Itisimpliedthatoneofthemostsignificantchangesinhighereducationinthepastdecadeis

A.thebrandB.thecollegenames

C.theconceptofmarketingD.listofmajors

53.Thephrase“comeupwith”（Line3,Para.4）probablymeans__.

A.catchupwithB.dealwith

C.putforwardD.cometotherealization

54.ThecaseofnamechangingfromCalState,Hayward,toCalState,EastBayindicatesthatthe

university___.

A.isperceivedbythesocietyB.hopestoexpanditsinfluence

C.preferstoreformitsteachingprogramsD.expectstoenlargeitscampus

55.Accordingtothespokeswoman,thenamechangeofBeaverCollege__.

A.turnsoutverysuccessfulB.failstoattainitsgoal

C.haseliminatedsomejokesD.hastransformeditsstatus

Text4

Itlookedjustlikeanotheraircraftfromtheoutside.Thepilottoldhisyoungpassengersthatit

wasbuiltin1964.Butappearancesweredeceptive,andthe13studentsfromEuropeandtheUSA

whoboardedtheaircraftwereinfortheflightoftheirlives.

Inside,theareathatnormallyhadseatshadbecomealongwhitetunnel.Heavilypadded（填

塞）fromfloortoceiling,itlookedabitstrange.Therewerealmostnowindows,butlightsalong

thepaddedwallsilluminatedit.Mostoftheseatshadbeentakenout,apartfromafewattheback

wheretheyoungscientistsquicklytooktheirplaceswithalookoffear.

For12months,sciencestudentsfromacrossthecontinentshadcompetedtowinaplaceon

theflightattheinvitationoftheEuropeanSpaceAgency.Thechallengehadbeentosuggest

imaginativeexperimentstobeconductedinweightlessconditions.

Forthenexttwohours,theflightresembledthatofanenormousbirdwhichhadloseits

reason,shootingupwardstowardstheheavensbeforerushingtowardsEarth.Theinventionwasto

achieveweightlessnessforafewseconds.

Theaircrafttookoffsmoothlyenough,butanyfeelingsthatIandtheyoungscientistshad

thatwewereonanythinglikeascheduledpassengerservicewerequicklydismissedwhenthe

pilotputtheplaneintoa45-degreeclimbwhichlastedaround20seconds.Thentheenginescut

ourandwebecameweightless.Everythingbecameconfusedandleftorright,upordownno

longerhadanymeaning.Aftertensecondsoffree-falldescentthepilotpulledtheaircraftoutof

itsnosedive.Thereturnofgravitywaslessimmediatethanitsloss,butwasstillsuddenenoughto

ensurethatsomestudentscamedownwithabump.

Eachtimethepilotcuttheenginesandwebecameweightless,anewteamconductedits

experiment.FirstitwastheDutchwhowantedtodiscoverhowitisthatcatsalwayslandontheir

feet.ThentheGermanteamwhoconductedasuccessfulexperimentonatraditionalbuilding

methodtoseeifitcouldbeusedforbuildingafurtherspacestation.TheAmericanshadanideato

createsolarsailsthatcouldbeusedbysatellites.

Aftertwohoursofgoingupanddowninthelanedoingtheirexperiments,thepredominant

feelingwasoneofexcitementratherthansickness.Mostofthestudentsthoughtitwasan

unforgettableexperienceandonetheywouldbekeentorepeat.

56.Whatdidthewritersayabouttheplane?

A.Ithadnoseats.B.Itwaspaintedwhite.

C.Ithadnowindows.D.Theoutsidewasmisleading.

57.Accordingtothewriter,howdidtheyoungscientistsfeelbeforetheflight?

A.SickB.KeenC.NervousD.Impatient

58.Whatdidthepilotdowiththeplaneafterittookoff?

A.Hequicklyclimbedandthenstoppedtheengines.

B.Heclimbedandthenmadetheplanefallslowly.

C.Hetookoffnormallyandthencuttheenginesfor20seconds.

D.Heclimbedandthenmadetheplaneturnover.

59.Accordingtothepassage,thepurposeofbeingweightlesswasto__.

A.seewhatconditionsarelikeinspace

B.preparetheyoungscientistsfbrfutureworkinspace

C.showthejudgesofthecompetitionwhattheycoulddo

D.maketheteamstryouttheirideas

60.Thispassagewaswrittento__.

A.encourageyoungpeopletotakeupscience

B.describetheprocessofascientificcompetition

C.showscientistswhatyoungpeoplecando

D.reportonanewscientifictechnique

2007年

Text1

Priortothe20thcentury,manylanguageswithsmallnumbersofspeakerssurvivedfor

centuries.Theincreasinglyinterconnectedmodernworldmakesitmuchmoredifficultforsmall

languagecommunitiestoliveinrelativeisolation,akeyfactorinlanguagemaintenanceand

preservation.

Itremainstobeseenwhethertheworldcanmaintainitslinguisticandculturaldiversityin

thecenturiesahead.Manypowerfulforcesappeartoworkagainstit:populationgrowth,which

pushesmigrantpopulationsintotheworld'slastisolatedlocations;masstourism;global

telecommunicationsandmassmedia;andthespreadofgiganticglobalcorporations.Allofthese

forcesappeartosignifyafutureinwhichthelanguageofadvertising,popularculture,and

consumerproductsbecomesimilar.AlreadyEnglishandafewothermajortongueshaveemerged

asgloballanguagesofcommerceandcommunication.Formanyoftheworld'speoples,learning

oneoftheselanguagesisviewedasthekeytoeducation,economicopportunity,andabetterway

oflife.

Onlyabout3,000languagesnowinuseareexpectedtosurvivethecomingcentury.Aremost

oftherestdoomedinthecenturyafterthat?

Whethermostoftheselanguagessurvivewillprobablydependonhowstronglycultural

groupswishtokeeptheiridentityalivethroughanativelanguage.Todosowillrequirean

emphasisonbilingualism（masteryoftwolanguages）.Bilingualspeakerscouldusetheirown

languageinsmallerspheres-athome,amongfriends,incommunitysettings—andaglobal

languageatwork,indealingswithgovernment,andincommercialspheres.Inthisway,many

smalllanguagescouldsustaintheirculturalandlinguisticintegrityalongsidegloballanguages,

ratherthanyieldtothehomogenizing（同化的）forcesofglobalization.

Ironically,thetrendoftechnologicalinnovationthathasthreatenedminoritylanguagescould

alsohelpsavethem.Forexample,someexpertspredictthatcomputersoftwaretranslationtools

willonedaypermitminoritylanguagespeakerstobrowsetheInternetusingtheirnativetongues.

Linguistsarecurrentlyusingcomputer-aidedlearningtoolstoteachavarietyofthreatened

languages.

Formanyendangeredlanguages,thelinebetweenrevivalanddeathisextremelythin.

Languageisremarkablyresilient（有活力的），however.Itisnotjustatoolforcommunicating,but

alsoapowerfulwayofseparatingdifferentgroups,orofdemonstratinggroupidentity.Many

indigenous（原生的，土著的）communitieshaveshownthatitispossibletoliveinthemodern

worldwhilereclaimingtheiruniqueidentitiesthroughlanguage.

41.Minoritylanguagescanbebestpreservedin__.

A.anincreasinglyinterconnectedworld

B.maintainingsmallnumbersofspeakers

C.relativelyisolatedlanguagecommunities

D.followingthetraditionofthe20thcentury

42.AccordingtoParagraph2,thattheworldcanmaintainitslinguisticdiversityinthefutureis

A.uncertainB.unrealistic

C.foreseeableD.definite

43.Accordingtotheauthor,bilingualismcanhelp__.

A.smalllanguagesbecomeacceptableinworkplaces

B.homogenizetheworld'slanguagesandcultures

C.globallanguagesreachhomeandcommunitysettings

D.speakersmaintaintheirlinguisticandculturalidentity

44.Computertechnologyishelpfulforpreservingminoritylanguagesinthatit__.

A.makeslearningagloballanguageunnecessary

B.facilitatesthelearningandusingofthoselanguages

C.raisespublicawarenessofsavingthoselanguages

D.makesiteasierforlinguiststostudythoselanguages

45.Intheauthor'sview,manyendangeredlanguagesare__.

A.remarkablywell-keptinthismodernworld

B.exceptionallypowerfultoolsofcommunication

C.quitepossibletoberevivedinsteadofdyingout

D.auniquewayofbringingdifferentgroupstogether

Text2

Everyone,itseems,hasahealthproblem.AfterpouringbillionsintotheNationalHealth

Service,Britishpeoplemoanaboutdirtyhospitals,longwaitsandwastedmoney.InGermanythe

newchancellor,AngelaMerkel,isunderfireforsuggestingchangingthefinancingofitshealth

system.Canada'snewConservativePrimeMinister,StephenHarper,madeabigfussduringthe

electionaboutreducingthecountry'slengthymedicalqueues.Acrosstherichworld,affluence,

ageingandadvancingtechnologyaredrivinguphealthspendingfasterthanincome.

ButnowherehasabiggerhealthproblemthanAmerica.Soaringmedicalbillsaresqueezing

wages,swelli