2008年中国人民大学博士入学考试英语真题及答案

中国人民大学

2008 年博士生入学考试英语试题



Part I. Vocabulary (20%)

Directions: Choose the best answer (from A, B, C and D) to complete
each of the following sentences. Mark your choice with a single bar
across the square brackets on your Machine-scoring Answer Sheet.



1. Let's give a big _____to tonight's prize-winner.

A. respect B. shout

C. praise D. hand

2. It was a depressed and divided country, accustomed to failure and of change.

A. definite B. curious

C. suspicious D. anxious

3. The secret of the____ of Wal- mart in the retailing industry lies in is single-minded
and skillful pantsuit of the lowest prices.

A. unalleviated B, uncombed

C. unprecedented D. unaccompanied

4. Those who got angry and crazy set fire to cars and shops in the Paris suburb of
Clichy-sous-Bois, then the problems_____.

A. evolved B. evaporated

C. escalated D, exalted

5. The supervisor, his explanation when his fault was pointed out by some

talented young students.

A. stumbled over B. got over

C. dashed to D. gave out

6, it is evident that no one, no matter how much they _____ is immunity from the

effect of advertising.

A, refuse B. reflect

C. proclaim D. protest

7. "It's probably just stress." How many times have you uttered those words to


yourself to____ a headache, pain or illness?

A. dismiss B. dispose

C. dispel D. disrupt

8. Schools and colleges have no right to use our public money to promote conduct that
is _____to the religious and moral values of parents and taxpayers.

A. conducive B. comparable

Caponizing D. offensive

9. The old farmer his wife, living until 105 years of age.

A. beat B. survived

C. lasted D. endured

10. He didn't know anything about business, so starting his own was______

. A. a climb to power B. a leap in the dark

C. a run on the bank D. a step backwards

11. Public attitudes toward business regulations are deeply _______ most people
resent intensive government rules, yet they expect government to prevent business
from defrauding, exploiting the public.

A. hostile B. emotional

C. ambiguous D. cynical

12. Ever since the TV show came off the air, there has been _______ that a movie
might be made of the show. Finally in autumn 2007, news broke that filming had
started.

A. specification B. suspicion

C. simulation D. speculation

13. A quick wit and a warm smile were the salesman's stock______.

A. in trade B. in reserve

C. in effect D. in business

14. Innovative product platforms like the portable transistor radio and the_____
walkman the digital lifestyle era.

A. set the Stage for B. shed light on

C. made sense of D. gave a hand to

15. Successful imitation, far from being symptomatic of a lack of _____, is the first
step in learning to be creative.

A. resolution B. eleg

ance

C. aspiration D. originality


16. Our parents love us because we are their children, and this is an fact. so that
we feel safer with them than with anyone else.

A. unambiguous B. uncontrollable

C. unalterable D. unintentional

17. As a journalist Hemingway trained himself in of expression. His deliberate
avoidance of very attractive adjectives is some of the traces of his early journalistic
practices.

A. economy B. elegance

C. depth D. neatness

18. It is the vast number of irresponsible dog owners which has roused public

and demands for tighter controls.

A. obsession B. apprehension

C. exclamation D. indignation

19. Talking to children about the death of others is a subject that adults_____away
from very strongly.

A. shy B. stay

C. slip D. skip

20. That's all fight, it is better to the feeling than to let it build up.

A. displace B. disarm

C. discharge D. dispatch

21. Many people are to insect bites, and some even have to go to hospital.

A. insensitive B. allergic C. sensible D. infected

22. When you're driving on a motorway, you must obey the signs telling you to get
into the right ___

A. way B. track C. road D. lane

23. The motorist had to ____ to avoid knocking the old woman down in the middle of
the road.

A. swerve B. twist C. depart D. swing

24. In winter drivers have trouble stopping their cars from on icy roads.

A. skating B. skidding C. sliding D. slipping

25. This project would __ a huge increase in defense spending.

A. result B. assure C. entail D. accomplish

26. The chances of a repetition of these unfortunate events are ___ indeed.

A. distant B. slim C. unlikely D. narrow


27. We should make a clear ___ between "competent" and "proficient" for the
purposes of our discussion.

A. separation B. division C. distinction D. difference

28. In the present economic we can make even greater progress than previously.

A. air B. mood C. area D. climate

29. Rite of Passage is a good novel by any standards__ it should rank high on any
list of science fiction.

A. consistently B. consequently C. invariably D. fortunately

30. The diversity of tropical plants in the region represents a seemingly

source of raw materials, of which only a few have been utilized.

A. exploited B. controversial C. inexhaustible D. remarkable

31. his expenditure on holidays and luxuries is rather high in to his income.

A. comparison B. proportion C. association D. calculation

32. Although he has become rich, he is still very of his money.

A. economic B. thrifty C. frugal D. careful

33. As the manager was away on a business trip, I was asked to the weekly staff
meeting.

A. preside B. introduce C. chair D. dominate

34. The of the word is unknown, but it is certainly not from Greek.

A. origin B. generation C. descent D. cause

35. The hook was a work of such

that it took 20 years to write.

A. magnitude B. extent C. degree D. amount

36. The police have offered a large for information leading to the robber's arrest.

A. award B. compensation C. prize D. reward

37. I arrived at the airport so late that I missed the plane.

A. only B. quite C. narrowly D. seldom

38. The popularity of the film shows that the reviewers' fears were completely ___.

A. unjustified B. unjust C. misguided D. unaccepted

39. The head of the Museum was ___ and let us actually examine the ancient
manuscripts.

A. promising B. agreeing C. pleasing D. obliging

40. The multi-national corporation was making a take-over ___ for a property
company.

A. application B. bid C. proposal D. suggestion




Part II. Reading Comprehension (30%)

Directions: Read the following passages and then choose the best answer (from A,
B,C and D) to complete each of the following sentences. Mark your choice with a
single bar across the square brackets on your Machine-scoring Answer Sheet.



Passage one

Many of the home electric goods which are advertised as liberating the modern
woman tend to have the opposite effect, because they simply change the nature of
work instead of eliminating it. Machines have a certain novelty value, like toys for
adults. It is certainly less tiring to put clothes in a washing machine, but the time
saved does not really amount to much: the machine has to be watched, the clothes
have to be carefully sorted out first, stains removed by hand, buttons pushed and
water changed, clothes taken out, aired and ironed. It would be more liberating to
pack it all off to a laundry and not necessarily more expensive, since no capital
investment is required. Similarly, if you really want to save time you do not make
cakes with an electric mixer, you buy one in a shop. If one compares the image of the
woman in the women's magazine with the goods advertised by those periodicals, one
realizes how useful a projected image can be commercially. A careful balance has to
be struck: if you show a labor-saving device, follow it up with a complicated recipe
on the next page; on no account hint at the notion that a woman could get herself a job,
but instead foster her sense of her own usefulness, emphasizing the creative aspect of
her function as a housewife. So we get cake mixes where the cook simply adds an egg
herself, to produce .. that lovely home-baked. flavor the family love" , and knitting
patterns that can be made by hand, or worse still, on knitting machines, which became
tremendously fashionable when they were first introduced. Automatic cookers are
advertised by pictures of pretty young mothers taking their children to the park, not by
professional women presetting the dinner before leaving home for work.

41. According to the passage, many of the home electric goods which are supposed to
liberate women

A. remove unpleasant a

spects of housework.

B. save the housewife very little time.

C. save the housewife's time but not her money.

D. have absolutely no value for the housewife.

42. According to the context, "capital investment" refers to money

A. spent on a washing machine. B. borrowed from the bank.

C. saved in the bank. D. lent to other people."

43. The goods advertised in women's magazines are really meant to

A. free housewives from housework. B. encourage housewives to go out to
work.

C. turn housewives into excellent cooks. D. give them a false sense of fulfillment.

44. The example of automatic cookers in the end supports that the home electric
goods ___

A. completely liberate the modem woman B. only change the nature of work


C. indeed eliminate the tedious work D. actually have novelty value

45. From this passage, we can infer that the writer is ___ about the home electric
goods for liberating the modem women.

A. opponent B. pessimistic C. happy D. concerned



Passage two

The "standard of living" of any country means the average person's share of the
goods and services which the country produces. A country's standard of living,
therefore, depends first and foremost on its capacity to produce wealth. "Wealth" in
this sense is not money, for we do not live on money but on things that money can
buy:" goods" such as food and clothing, and "services" such as transport and en-
tertainment.

A country's capacity to produce wealth depends upon many factors, most f)f
which have an effect on one another. Wealth depends to a great extent upon a
country's natural resources, such as coal, gold, and other minerals, water supply and
so on. Some regions of the world are well supplied with coal and minerals, and have a
fertile soil and a favorable climate; other regions possess none of them.

Next to natural resources comes the ability to turn them to use. Some countries
are perhaps well off in natural resources, but suffered for many years from civil and
external wars, and for this and other reasons have been unable to develop their
resources. Sound and stable political conditions, and freedom from foreign invasion,
enable a country to develop its natural resources peacefully and steadily, and to
produce more wealth than another country equally well served by nature but less well
ordered. Another important factor is the technical efficiency of a country's people.
Industrialized countries that have trained numerous skilled workers and technicians
are better placed to produce wealth than countries whose workers are largely
unskilled.

A country's standard of living does not only depend upon the wealth that is
produced and consumed within its own borders, but also upon what is indirectly
produced through international trade. For example, Britain's wealth in foodstuffs and
other agricultural products would be much less if she had to depend only on those
g

rown at home. Trade makes it possible for her surplus manufactured goods to be
traded abroad for the agricultural products that would otherwise be lacking. A
country's wealth is, therefore, much influenced by its manufacturing capacity,
provided that other countries can be found ready to accept its manufactures.

46. The standard of living in a country is determined by

A. its goods and services. B. the type of wealth produced.

C. how well it can create wealth. D. what an ordinary person can share.

47. A country's capacity to produce wealth depends on all the factors EXCEPT

A. people's share of its goods. B. political and social stability.

C. qualities of its workers. D. use of natural resources.

48. According to the passage, ___ play an equally important role in determining a
country's standard of living.

A. farm products B. industrial goods


C. foodstuffs D. export & import

49. The manufacturing capacity may be a key factor to a higher standard of living
when one country

A. has traded her manufacture. B. has established her wealth.

C. has been an industrialized one D. has produced surplus manufactured goods



Passage three

How we look and how we appear to others probably worries us more when we
are in our teens or early twenties than at any other time in our life. Few of us are
content to accept ourselves as we are, and few are brave enough to ignore the trends
of fashion.

Most fashion magazines or TV advertisements try to persuade us that we should
dress in a certain way or behave in a certain manner. If we do, they tell us, we will be
able to meet new people with confidence and deal with every situation confidently
and without embarrassment. Changing fashion, of course, does not apply just to dress.
A barber today does not cut a boy's hair in the same way as he used to, and girls do
not make up in the same way as their mothers and grandmothers did. The advertisers
show us the latest fashionable styles and we are constantly under pressure to follow
the fashion in case our friends think we are odd or dull.

What causes fashions to change? Sometimes convenience or practical necessity
or just the fancy of an influential person can establish a fashion. Take hats, for
example. In cold climates, early building were cold inside, so people wore hats
indoors as well as outside. In recent times, the late President Kennedy caused a
depression in the American hat industry by not wearing hats: more American men
followed his example.

There is also a cyclical pattern in fashion. In the 1920s in Europe and America,
short skirts became fashionable. Meter World War II , they dropped to ankle length.
Then they got shorter and shorter until the miniskirt was in fashion. Meter a few more
years, skirts became longer again.

Today, society is much freer and easier than it used to be. It is no longer necessary to
dress like everyone else. Within r

eason, you can dress as you like or do your hair the
way you like instead of the way you should because it is the fashion. The popularity
of jeans and the "untidy" look seems to be a reaction against the increasingly
expensive fashions of the top fashion houses.

At the same time, appearance is still important in certain circumstances and then
we must choose our clothes carefully. It would be foolish to go to an interview for. a
job in a law firm wearing jeans and a sweater; and it would be discourteous to visit
some distinguished scholar looking as if we were going to the beach or a night club.
However, you need never feel depressed if you don't look like the latest fashion photo.
Look around you and you'll see that no one else does either!

50. The author thinks that people are

A. satisfied with their appearance.

B. concerned about appearance in old age.

C. far from neglecting what is in fashion.


D. reluctant to follow the trends in fashion.

51. Fashion magazines and TV advertisements seem to link fashion to

A. confidence in life. B. personal dress.

C. individual hair style. D. personal future.

52. According to the passage, changing fashions reflected in all of the following
aspects EXCEPT

A. dress. B. make-up. C. hairstyle. D. behavior.

53. Causes of fashions are

A. uniform. B. varied. C. unknown. D. inexplicable.

54. Present-day society is much freer and easier because it emphasizes

A. uniformity. B. formality. C. informality. D. individuality.

55. Which is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A. Care about appearance in formal situations.

B. Fashion in formal and informal situations.

C. Ignoring appearance in informal situations.

D. Ignoring appearance in all situations.



Passage four

Massive changes in all of the world's deeply cherished sporting habits are
underway. Whether it's one of London's parks full of people playing softball, and
Russians taking up rugby, or the Super bowl rivaling the British Football Cup Final as
a televised spectator event in Britain, the patterns of players and spectators are
changing beyond recognition. We are witnessing a globalization of our sporting
culture.

That annual bicycle race, the Tour de France, much loved by the French is a good
case in point. Just a few years back it was a strictly continental affair with France,
Belgium and Holland, Spain and Italy taking part. But in recent years it has been
dominated by Colombian mountain climbers, and American and Irish riders.

The people who really matter welcome the shift toward globalization. Peugeot,
Michelin and Panasonic are multi-national corporations that want worldwide returns
for the millions they invest in teams. So it does them literally a world of good to see
this unofficial world championship become just that.

This is undoubtedly an economic-based revolution we are witnessing here, one
made possible by

communications technology, but made to happen because of
marketing considerations. Sell the game and you can sell Coca Cola or Budweiser as
well.

The skilful way in which American football has been sold to Europe is a good
example of how all sports will develop. The aim of course is not really to spread the
sport for its own sake, but to increase the number of people interested in the major
money-making events. The economics of the Super bowl are already astronomical.
With seats at US $ 125, gate receipts alone were a staggering $ 10, 000, 000. The
most important statistic of the day, however, was the $ 100, 000, 000 in TV
advertising fees. Imagine how much that becomes when the eyes of the world are
watching.


So it came as a terrible shock, but not really as a surprise, to learn that some
people are now suggesting that soccer change from being a game of two 45 -minute
halves, to one of four 25 -minute quarters. The idea is unashamedly to culture more
advertising revenue, without giving any thought for the integrity of a sport which
relies for its essence on the flowing nature of the action.

Moreover, as sports expand into world markets, and as our choice of sports as
consumers also grows, so we will demand to see them played at a higher and higher
level. In boxing we have already seen numerous, dubious world title categories
because people will not pay to see anything less than a "World Title" fight, and this
means that the title fights have to be held in different countries around the world!

56. Globalization of sporting culture means that

A. more people are taking up sports.

B. traditional sports are getting popular.

C. many local sports are becoming international.

D. foreigners are more interested in local sports.

57. Which of the following is NOT related to the massive changes?

A. Good economic returns. B. Revival of sports.

C. Communications technology. D. Marketing strategies.

58. According to this passage , American football has been sold to Europe to

A. show how all sports will spread.

B. make the football known to Europe.

C. arouse more audience's interest.

D. make the economics astronomical.

59. What is the author's attitude towards the suggestion to change soccer into one
of four 25-minute quarters?

A. ,Favorable. B. Unclear. C. Reserved. D. Critical.

60. People want to see higher-level sports competitions mainly because

A. they become more professional than ever.

B. they regard sports as consumer goods.

C. there exist few world-class championships.

D. sports events are exciting and stimulating.



Passage 5

It didn’t happen overnight. The problem of polluted air has been festering for
centuries.

Suddenly the problem of air pollution is becoming critical and is erupting right
before our eyes. Not only do our eyes burn as they focus through murky air, but when
the air clears, we see tr

ees and vegetation dying. We must realize that this destruction
can no longer be pinned to some mysterious cause. The one major culprit is air
pollution.

Today’s air pollution is an unfortunate by-product of the growth of civilization.
Civilized man desires goods that require heavy industrialization and mass production.
Machines and factories sometimes pollute and taint the air with substances that are
dangerous to man and the environment. These substances include radioactive dust,


salt spray, herbicide and pesticide aerosols, liquid droplets of acidic matter, gases, and
sometimes soil particles. These materials can act alone to irritate objects and forms of
life. More dangerously, they join together to act upon the environment. Only lately
have we begun recognizing some of their dangerous consequences.

Scientists have not yet been able to obtain a complete report on the effects of air
pollution on trees. They do know, however, that sulfur dioxide, fluorides, and ozone
destroy trees and that individual trees respond differently to the numerous particulate
and gaseous pollutants. Sometimes trees growing in a single area under attack by
pollutants will show symptoms of injury or will die while their neighbors remain
healthy. Scientists believe this difference in response depends on the kind of tree and
its genetic makeup. Other factors, such as the tree’s stage of growth and nearness to
the pollution source, the mount of pollutants, and length of the pollution attack also
play a part .In short, whether or not a tree dies as a result of air pollution depends on a
combination of host and environmental factors.

For the most part, air pollutants injure trees. To conifers, which have year-round
needles, air pollution causes early balding. In this event, trees cannot maintain normal
food production levels. Undernourished and weakened, they are open to attack by a
host of insects, diseases, and other environmental stresses. Death often follows.

Air pollution may also cause hardwoods to lose their leaves. Because their leaves
are borne only for a portion of the year and are replaced the following year , air
pollution injury to hardwoods may not be so severe.

61. The author attributes today’s air pollution to ________

A. the growth of civilization. B. man’s carelessness

C. environmental imbalance C. some mysterious cause.

62. The resistance of some trees to disease can be traced to ______

A. protective foliage B. thick bark

C. genetic makeup D. tainted air

63. Air pollution causes the most damage to _______

A. hardwoods B. conifers

C. fruit trees D. fluorides

64. The author implies that the greatest source of pollution is ________

A. heavy industry B. chemical processing plants

C. urban expansion D. salt spray

65. We can conclude that ___________

A. air pollution is easier to control than water pollution

B. the problem of po

lluted air is a problem overnight

C. the impact of air pollution has been known for centuries

D. research on the efforts of air pollution is incomplete.



Passage 6

Every time a person eats something he makes a nutritional decision. He accepts or
rejects the food available to him at home for meals or snacks. Or he selects food for
himself at many places in the community, such as supermarkets, drive-ins, restaurants,
and food counters in drugstores. These selections make a difference in how an


individual looks, how he feels, and how well he can work and play.

When a good assortment of food in appropriate amounts is selected and eaten, the
consequences are more likely to be a desirable level of health and enough energy to
allow one to be as active as he needs and wants to be. When choices are less than
desirable, the consequences are likely to be poor health or limited energy or both.

Studies of diets of individuals in the United States show that food selection is a
highly individual matter, even among young children Furthermore, far too many
individuals of all ages are making poor choices day after day and are either now living
with the consequences or will be in the future.

Nutritionists and workers in allied professions have been concerned about helping
people learn to select and enjoy a wide variety of food combinations that can add up
to a good diet.

Most people believe that they are well fed––that the choices they make are good
ones. After all, they are not really sick, neither are they hungry. However, their
nutrition is usually poor in one respect or another. Milk and milk products, such as
cheeses, ice cream or milk, buttermilk, and yogurt, are often slighted. Then people
may skip many fruits and vegetables, particularly those that are good sources of
vitamins A and C. These include dark green, leafy vegetables; deep yellow vegetables;
and citrus fruits and vegetables, such as cabbage, tomatoes, and green peppers.

Every American has the right to choose to be uniformed about nutrition as well as
to be informed. If a person believes that she is well fed, attitudes, habits, and
information cannot be forced upon her.

There are life situations, however, that tend to cause an individual to want to know
how to make the best choices. For example, a young couple is starting a family and
must prepare food for young children.

66. Food preference in America is _____________

A. culturally oriented. B. inherited.

C. individualistic. D. according to ages.

67. Good amounts of vitamin A can be found in ____________

A. celery B. banana.

C. milk. D. cabbage.

68. According to the author, nutritionists are concerned with _________

A. improving the vitamin content of processed foods.

B. restricting the manufacture of high cholesterol foods.

C. informing the public about wholesome foods.

D. helping people enjoying un

informed about nutrition.

69. Some people judge their nutrition by the ____________

A. status of their health.

B. grocery stores where they shop.

C. amount of protein in their diets.

D. food they took.

70. The author advocates ____________________

A. requiring high school students to take courses on nutrition.

B. making information on nutrition available to the public.


C. forcing food manufacturers to list ingredients on packages.

D. people has the right to choose food.



Part III. Translation (20%)



71. English-Chinese Translation (10%)

Directions: Translate the following into Chinese and write your translation on
your Answer Sheet II.



In cities all over the United States, workers spend several hours a day in cars
crawling along in traffic to get to offices many miles from home.

They experience stress, waste time, and pay a lot for gas, car maintenance, and
parking. Once they get to work, they make their way through a maze of cubicles, each
with its computer, phone, and file cabin.

Nancy Alley, human resources manager at TBWA, doesn't. She stays at home in
her pajama with a pile of resumes, talking with managers over the phone and faxing in
paperwork. Instead of walking down the hall to chat with coworkers, she e-mails them.
Nancy is a telecommuter, someone who works some or all of the time at home.

Highway congestion, the high cost of office space, federal clean air laws,
reduced workforces, and lifestyle needs-all these factors contribute to the growth of
telecommuting. What makes it possible is technology.

Desktop and laptop personal computers, networking, videoconferencing, fax
machines, E-mail and multiple phone lines provide the fast and efficient
communication required for telecommuting.

Telecommuting is not universally applicable. Jobs and individuals must be



72. Chinese-English, Translation (10 %)

Directions: Translate the following intoEnglish and write your translation on
your Answer Sheet II.



据情况调查调查表明, 毒品已经从娱乐圈蔓延到小城镇的中学里。超过I7%的中学高年
级的学生承认自己试用过可卡因。因为对吸毒泛滥的原因没有达成-致的看法,所以应该采取
什么措施来解决问题更没有统-的意见。尽管学校和家长成立了咨询服务网,但一些专家说,
只要年长的人还在吸毒,年轻人就会吸毒。贩卖任何毒品和拥有大量毒品都是违法的,可是这
并未能够使吸毒者放弃吸毒恶习。





Part IV Practical Writing (30%)

73. Practical Writing (10%)



74. Essay Writing (20%)