國家開放大學(xué)學(xué)位英語考試試卷及答案

PartIII

ReadingComprehension

(20x2=40

points)

Passage1

Itmaylooklikejustanotherplaygroup,butauniqueeducationalcenterinManhattanisreallygivingbabies

somethingtotalkabout."It'saschooltoteachlanguagestobabiesandyoungchildrenwithgames,songs--someofthe

classesalsohaveartsandcrafts,"saidFrancoisThibaut,thefounderoftheLangrageWorkshopforChildren,aplace

wherebabiesbecomebilingual.

ChildrenasyoungasfewmonthsareexposedtoFrenchandSpanishbeforemanyofthemcanevenspeakEnglish.

Educatorsusespecialsongsandvisual(視覺的)aidstoensurethatwhenachildisreadytotalk,thelanguageswillnot

besoforeign."Childrenhaveauniquecapacitytolearnmanylanguagesatthesametime,"saidThibaut."Alreadyat

ninemonths,achildcantellthedifferencesbetweenthesoundsheorshehasheardsincebirthandthesoundsheorshe

hasneverheardyet."Thibautsaysthebesttimetoexposechildrentolanguageisfrombirthto3yearsold.Forthelast

30years,theschoolhasbeenusingwhatitcallstheThibarutTechnique,asystemthatcombineslanguagelessonswith

child'splay.

"IalwayswantedtolearnSpanish,butbythetimeIgottohighschoolitwastoolatetopickitupandspeakfluently,"

saidMarcLazare,whoenrolledhissonattheschool."Ifiguredatthisage,two,it'saperfecttimeforhimtolearn."

Asidefromlearningalanguage,thekidsalsogainatremendoussenseofconfidence.Oneyoungstudentboasted

thatasidefromFrench,shecanspeakfivelanguages(thoughthatincluded"monkey"and"lion").Theschoolgives

childrenthetoolstocommunicate,andsometimesthatgivesthemanadvantageovertheirparents."Ithinkthey

sometimesspeakFrenchwhentheythinkIwon'tunderstandthem,"saidparentFosterGibbons

Dependingontheagegroup,classesrunfrom45minutesupto2hours.Evenwhenthestudentsarenotinclass,the

programisdesignedtomakesurethelearningcontinuesathome.Tapesandbooksareincludedsokidscanpracticeon

theirown.(359)

41.Theword"bilingual"inthefirstparagraphprobablymeans

A.capableofusingtwolanguagesB.bothcleverandconfident

C.awareoftheirownlimitationsandstrengthsD.independentoftheirparents

42.Thepassagetellsusthatthebesttimeforachildtolearnlanguagesis

A.beforesevenyearsold

B.frombirthtothreeyearsold

C.inhischildhood

D.inhisteens

43.AccordingtoThibaut,itispossible.

A.forchildrentotakeadvantageoftheirparentsbyusingaforeignlanguage

B.toexposechildrentoaforeignlanguageaftertheycanspeak

C.tocombinelanguagelessonswithsportsgames

D.forchildrentolearnseverallanguagesatthesametime

44.Theschoolteacheslanguageby.

A.exposingchildrentothenewenvironment

C.combininglanguagelessonswithgames

45.Thebesttitleforthistextis

A.AUniqueLanguageSchoolforChildren

C.SpecialSongsandVisualAidsinLearning

B.usingmodernfacilitiesandequipment

D.givingchildrenconfidence

B.TheForeignLanguageforChildrentoLearn

D.TheBestWaytoLearnaForeignLanguage

Passage2

Thedifferencesinlivingstandardsaroundtheworldarevast.In1993,theaverageAmericanhadanincomeofabout

$25,000.Inthesameyear,theaverageMexicanearned$7,000,andtheaverageNigerianearned$1,500.Not

surprisingly,thislargevariationinaverageincomeisreflectedinvariousmeasuresofthequalityoflife.Changesin

livingstandardsovertimearealsolarge.IntheUnitedStates,incomeshavehistoricallygrownabout2percentperyear

(afteradjustingforchangesinthecostofliving).Atthisrate,averageincomedoublesevery35years.Insomecountries,

economicgrowthhasbeenevenmorerapid.InJapan,forinstance,averageincomehasdoubledinthepast20years,and

inSouthKoreaithasdoubledinthepast10years.

Whatexplainstheselargedifferencesinlivingstandardsamongcountriesandovertime?Theanswerissurprisingly

simple.Almostallvariationinlivingstandardsisattributabletodifferencesincountries'productivity—thatis,the

amountofgoodsandservicesproducedfromeachhourofaworker'stime.Innationswhereworkerscanproducealarge

quantityofgoodsandservicesperunitoftime,mostpeopleenjoyahighstandardofliving;innationswhereworkersare

lessproductive,mostpeoplemustendureamoremeagerexistence.Similarly,thegrowthrateofanation'sproductivity

determinesthegrowthrateofitsaverageincome.

Thefundamentalrelationshipbetweenproductivityandlivingstandardsissimple,butitsimplicationsare

far-reaching.Ifproductivityistheprimarydeterminantoflivingstandards,otherexplanationsmustbeofsecondary

importance.Forexample,peoplemightthinkthatlaborunionsorminimum-wagelawscontributedtotheriseinliving

standardsofAmericanworkersoverthepastcentury.YettherealheroofAmericanworkersistheirrisingproductivity.

Therelationshipbetweenproductivityandlivingstandardsalsohasgreatimplicationsforpublicpolicy.When

thinkingabouthowanypolicywillaffectlivingstandards,thekeyquestionishowitwillaffectourabilitytoproduce

goodsandservices.Toimprovelivingstandards,policymakersneedtoraiseproductivitybyensuringthatworkersare

welleducated,havethetoolsneededtoproducegoodsandservices,andhaveaccesstothebestavailabletechnology.

46.Whichofthefollowingcountrieshasenjoyedthefastesteconomicgrowthinhistory?

A.Mexico.

B.TheUnitedStates

C.Japan

D.

South

Korea.

47.TheWord"meager"inthesecondparagraphisclosestinmeaningto"

"

A.

modest

B.poorC.meaninglessD.plentiful

48.Whatisthemostimportantfactorthatleadstotheriseinlivingstandardsofaveragepeople?

A.LaborunionsB.Minimum-wagelaws

C.Risingproductivity.

D.Favorablepublicpolicy

49.Thestudyoftherelationshipbetweenproductivityandlivingstandardsissignificantthat

.

A.itcallspolicymakers'attentiontoaqualifiedworkforce

B.itencouragesworkerstogetbettereducation

C.ithelpsimprovetheworkers'abilitytoproducegoodsandsservices

D.itenablespolicymakerstoaccessthelatesttechnology

50.Thepassagemainlydiscusses

A.thedifferencesinaverageincomeamongcountriesB.therelationshipbetweenproductivityandlivingstandards

C.thecausesoftheriseinlivingstandards

D.theimportanceofraisingproductivity

Passage3

Recentstoriesinthenewspapersandmagazinessuggestthatteachingandresearchcontradicteachother,thatresearch

playstooprominentapartinacademicpromotions,andthatteachingisbadlyunderemphasized.Thereisanelementof

truthinthesestatements,buttheyalsoignoredeeperandmoreimportantrelationships.

Researchexperienceisanessentialelementofhiringandpromotionataresearchuniversitybecauseitistheemphasis

onresearchthatdistinguishessuchauniversityfromanartscollege.Someprofessors,however,neglectteachingfor

researchandthatpresentsaproblem.

Mostresearchuniversitiesrewardoutstandingteaching,butthegreatestrecognitionisusuallygivenforachievements

inresearch.Partofthereasonisthedifficultyofjudgingteaching.Ahighlyresponsibleandtoughprofessorisusually

appreciatedbytopstudentswhowanttobechallenged,butdislikedbythosewhoserecordsarelessimpressive.The

mildprofessorgetsoverallratingsthatareusuallyhigh,butthereisasenseofdisappointmentinthepartofthebest

students,exactlythoseforwhomthesystemshouldpresentthegreatestchallenges.Thus,auniversitytryingtopromote

professorsprimarilyontheteachingqualitieswouldhavetoconfrontthisconfusion.

Asmodernsciencemovesfaster,twoforcesareexertedonprofessor:oneisthetimeneededtokeeponwiththe

profession;theotheristhetimeneededtoteach.Thetrainingofnewscientistsrequiresoutstandingteachingatthe

researchuniversityaswellastheartscollege.Althoughscientistsareusually"made"intheelementaryschools,

scientistscanbe"lost"bypoorteachingatthecollegeandgraduateschoollevels.Thesolutionisnottoseparate

teachingandresearch,buttorecognizethatthecombinationisdifficultbutvital.Thetitleofprofessorshouldbegiven

onlytothosewhoprofess,anditisperhapstimeforuniversitiestoreserveitforthosewillingtobeanearnestpartofthe

communityofscholars.Professorsunwillingtoteachcanbecalled"distinguishedresearchinvestigators"orsomething

else.

Thepaceofmodernsciencemakesitincreasinglydifficulttobeagreatresearcherandagreatteacher.Yetmanyare

describedinjustthoseterms.Thosewhosaywecanseparateteachingandresearchsimplydonotunderstandthesystem

butthosewhosaytheproblemwilldisappeararenotfulfillingtheirresponsibilities.(389)

51.Whatideadoestheauthorwanttoconveyinthefirstparagraph?

A.Itiswrongtooverestimatetheimportanceofteaching.B.Teachingandresearcharecontradictorytoeachother.

C.Researchcanneverbeemphasizedtoomuch.

D.Therelationshipbetweenteachingandresearchshouldnotbesimplified.

52.Inacademicpromotionsresearchuniversitiesstillattachmoreimportancetoresearchpartlybecause

A.researchimprovesthequalityofteaching

B.studentswhowanttobechallengedappreciateresearchprofessors

C.itisdifficulttoevaluateteachingqualityobjectively

D.professorswithachievementsinresearchareusuallyresponsibleandtough

53.Accordingtothefourthparagraph,whichofthefollowingwilltheauthorprobablyagreewith?

A.Distinguishedprofessorsatresearchuniversitiesshouldconcentrateonresearchonly.

B.Theseparationofteachingfromresearchcanlowerthequalityoffuturescientists.

C.Itisofutmostimportancetoimproveteachinginelementaryschoolsinordertotrainnewscientists.

D.Therapiddevelopmentsofmodernsciencemakesitimpossibletocombineteachingwithresearch.

54.Thetitleofprofessorshouldbegivenonlytothosewho,firstandforemost,do

A.teachingB.fieldworkC.scientificresearchD.investigation

55.Thephrase"theproblem"(Para.5,Line3)refersto

A.raisingthestatusofteachingB.thecombinationofteachingwithresearch

C.theseparationofteachingfromresearchD.improvingthestatusofresearch

Passage4

Thereareanumberofformatsforreportingresearch,suchasarticlestoappearinjournals,reportsaddressedto

fundingagencies,thesesordissertationsaspartoftherequirementsforuniversitydegrees,andpaperstobepresentedat

conferences.Theseformatsdifferfromoneanothermostlyintheirpurposesandtheaudienceswhomtheyaddress.We

willnowbrieflydescribethem.

Thejournalarticleisawayofreportingresearchforprofessionaljournalsoreditedcollections.Theresearchis

reportinginabrief,yetinformativeway,focusingmostlyonthemainfeaturesoftheresearchsuchasthepurpose,

reviewoftheliterature(oftenreferredtoas"background"),proceduresusedforcarryingouttheresearchaccompanied

bytables,charts,andgraphs,andinterpretationsoftheresults(oftenreferredtoasdiscussion).

Thecontentandemphasisofthejournalarticlewillvaryaccordingtotheintendedreaders(researchorpractitioners)

anditisimportantfortheresearchertobeawareofthebackgroundandinterestofthereadersofthejournal.Articles

intendedtobereadbypractitionerswillemphasizethepracticalimplicationsandrecommendationsoftheresearch,

whilearticlesintendedtobereadbyresearcherswilldescribeindetailthemethodusedtocollectdata,theconstruction

ofdatacollectionprocedures,andthetechniquesusedforanalyzingthedata.Itisimportantforthenoviceresearcherto

beawareofthefactthatarticlessubmittedtojournalsgothroughaprocessofevaluationbyexpertswhomakea

judgmentandrecommendwhethertheyshouldbepublishedornot.

Thethesisordissertationisaformatforreportingresearchwhichgraduatestudentswriteaspartoffulfillingthe

requirementsforanadvancedacademicdegree.Thestudentisexpectedtodescribeingreatdetailallthephasesofthe

researchsoitcanbeexaminedandevaluatedcarefullybythereader.Thusthethesisordissertationincludesthepurpose

andsignificanceofthestudy,therationale,athoroughreviewoftheliterature,detailedinformationastotheresearch

toolsandtheproceduresinvolvedintheirdevelopment,adescriptionofdataanalysisandtheresults,andan

interpretationoftheresultsintheformofconclusions,implications,andrecommendation.Thisdetaileddescriptionof

theprocessoftheresearchisneededtoprovidetheprofessorswithanindicationofthestudent'sabilitytocarryout

research.

Theconferencepaperisawayofreportingresearchatconferences,seminarsandcolloquia.Atsuchmeetingsresearch

papersareusuallypresentedorally.Theyaresimilartotheresearcharticlesinceresearchisreportedinaconcise,yet

informativeway,focusingonthemostessentialelementsoftheresearch.Handoutsandtransparenciescanalso

accompanythepresentations.Aswiththeresearcharticle,heretoo,thecontentandemphasisoftheoralreportwill

dependtoalargeextentonthetypeofaudiencepresentatthemeeting,andwhethertheyareresearchersorpractitioners

(486)

56.Thebesttitleforthispassagecouldbe

A.TypesofResearchReportsB.TypesofJournalArticles

C.WritingofresearchReportsD.WritingofDifferentArticles

57.Thecommonaspectforthejournalarticles,th