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TEST FOR ENGLISH MAJORS (2018)

-GRADE EIGHT-

TIME LIMIT: 150 MIN

PART I LISTENING COMPREHENSION [25 MIN]

SECTION A MINI-LECTURE

In this section you will hear a mini-lecture. You will hear the mini-lecture ONCE ONLY. While listening to the mini-lecture, please complete the gap-filling task on ANSWER SHEET ONE and write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each gap. Make sure the word(s) you fill in is (are) both grammatically and semantically acceptable. You may use the blank sheet for note-taking.

You have THIRTY seconds to preview the gap-filling task.

Now listen to the mini-lecture. When it is over, you will be given THREE minutes to check your work.

SECTION B INTERVIEW

In this section you will hear ONE interview. The interview will be divided into TWO parts. At the end of each part, five questions will be asked about what was said. Both the interviews and the question will be spoken ONCE ONLY. After each question there will be a ten-second pause. During the pause, you should read the four choices of A, B), C) and D), and mark the best answer to each question on ANSWER SHEET TWO.

You have THIRTY seconds to preview the choices.

Now, listen to the first interview. Questions 1 to 5 are based on Part One of the interview.

1. A. Announcement of results.

B. Lack of a time schedule.

C. Slowness in ballots counting.

D. Direction of the electoral events.

2. A. Other voices within Afghanistan wanted so.

A. The date had been set previously.

B. All the ballots had been counted.

C. The UN advised them to do so.

3. A. To calm the voters.

A. To speed up the process.

B. To stick to the election rules.

C. To stop complaints from the loser.

4. A. Unacceptable.

A. Unreasonable.

B. Insensible.

C. Ill considered.

5. A. Supportive.

A. Ambivalent.

B. Opposed.

C. Neutral.

Now listening to Part Two of the interview. Questions 6 to 10 are based on Part Two of the interview.

6. A. Ensure the government includes all parties.

A. Discuss who is going to be the winner.

B. Supervise the counting of votes.

C. Seek support from important sectors.

7. A. 36%-24%.

B. 46%-34%.

C. 56%-44%.

D. 66%-54%.

8. A. Both candidates.

B. Electoral institutions.

C. The United Nations.

D. Not specified.

9. A. It was unheard of.

B. It was on a small scale.

C. It was insignificant.

D. It occurred elsewhere.

10. A. Problems in the electoral process.

B. Formation of a new government.

C. Premature announcement of results.

D. Democracy in Afghanistan.

In this section there are three passages followed by fourteen multiple choice questions. For each multiple choice question, there are four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that you think is the best answer and mark your answer on ANSWER SHEET TWO.

(1) “Britain’s best export,” I was told by the head of the Department of Immigration in Canberra, “is people.” Close on 100,000 people have applied for assisted passages in the first five months of that year, and half of these are eventually expected to migrate to Australia.

(2) The Australians are delighted. They are keenly aware that without a strong flow of immigrants into the workforce the development of the Australian economy is unlikely to proceed at the ambitious pace currently envisaged. The new mineral discoveries promise a splendid future, and the injection of huge amounts of American and British capital should help to ensure that they arc properly exploited, but with unemployment in Australia down to less than 1.3 per cent, the government is understandably anxious (o attract more skilled labor.

(3) Australia is roughly the same size as the continental United States, but has only twelve million inhabitants. Migration has accounted for half the population increase in the last four years, and has contributed greatly to the country’s impressive economic development. Britain has always been the principal source — ninety per cent of Australians arc of British descent, and Britain has provided one million migrants since the Second World War.

(4) Australia has also given great attention to recruiting people elsewhere. Australians decided they had an excellent potential source of applicants among the so-called “guest workers” who have crossed their own frontiers to work in other parts of Europe. There were estimated to be more than four million of them, and a large number were offered subsidized passages and guaranteed jobs in Australia. Italy has for some years been the second biggest source of migrants., and the Australians have also managed to attract a large number of Greeks and Germans.

(5) One drawback with them, so far as the Australians are concerned, is that integration tends to be more difficult. Unlike the British, continental migrants have to struggle with an unfamiliar language and new customs. Many naturally gravitate towards the Italian or Greek communities which have grown up in cities such as Sydney and Melbourne. These colonies have their own newspapers, their own shops, and their own clubs. Their inhabitants are not Australians but Europeans.

(6) The government’s avowed aim, however, is to maintain “a substantially homogeneous society into which newcomers, from whatever sources, will merge themselves. By and large, therefore, Australia still prefers British migrants, and tends to be rather selective in their case than it is with others.

(7) A far bigger cause of concern than the growth of national groups, however, is the increasing number of migrants who return to their countries of origin. One reason is that people nowadays tend to be more mobile and that it is easier than in the past to save the return fare, but economic conditions also have something to do with it. A slower rate of growth invariably produces discontent — and if this coincides with greater prosperity in Europe, a lot of people tend to feel that perhaps they were wrong to come here after all.

(8) Several surveys have ben conduced recently into the reasons why people go home. One noted that “flies, dirt, and outside lavatories” were on the list of complaints from British immigrants, and added that many people also complain about “the crudity, bad manners, and unfriendliness of the Australians”. Another survey gave climate conditions, homesickness and “the stark appearance of the Australian countryside” as the main reasons for leaving.

(9) Most British migrants miss council housing, the National Health scheme, and their relatives and former neighbors. Loneliness is a big factor especially among housewives. The men soon make new friends at work, but wives tend to find it much harder to get used to a different way of life. Many are housebound because of inadequate public transport in most outlying suburbs, and regular corresponds with their old friends at home only serves to increase their discontent. One housewife was quoted recently as saying: “I even find I miss the people I used to hate at home.”

(10) Rents are high, and there are long waiting lists for Housing Commission homes. Sickness can be an expensive business and the climate can be unexpectedly rough. The gap between Australian and British wage packets is no longer big, and people are generally expected to work harder here than they do at home. Professional men over forty often have difficulty in finding a decent job. Above all, perhaps, skilled immigrants often find a considerable reluctance to accept their qualifications.

(11) According to the journal Australian Manufacturer, the attitude of many employers and fellow workers is anything but friendly. “We Australians,” it stated in a recent issue, “are just too fond of painting the rosy picture of the big, warm-hearted Aussie. As a matter of fact, we are so busy blowing our own trumpets that we have not got time to be warm-hearted and considerate. Go down ‘heart-break alley’ among some of the migrants and find out just how expansive the Aussie is to his immigrants.”

11. The Australians want a strong flow of immigrants because  .

A. immigrants speed up economic expansion

B. unemployment is down to a low figure

C. immigrants attract foreign capital

D. Australia is as large as the United States

12. Australia prefers immigrants from Britain because  .

A. they are selected carefully before entry

B. they are likely to form national groups

C. they easily merge into local communities

D. they are fond of living in small towns

13. In explaining why some migrants return to Europe the author  .

A. stresses their economic motives

B. emphasizes the variety of their motives

C. stresses loneliness and homesickness

D. emphasizes the difficulties of men over forty

14. Which of the following words is used literally, not metaphorically?

A. “flow” (Para. 2).

B. “injection” (Para. 2).

C. “gravitate” (Para. 5).

D. “selective” (Para. 6).

15. Para. 11 pictures the Australians as  .

A. unsympathetic

B. ungenerous

C. undemonstrative

D. unreliable.

(1) Some of the advantages of bilingualism include better performance at tasks involving “executive function” (which involve the brain's ability to plan and prioritize), better defense against dementia in old age and — the obvious — the ability to speak a second language. One purported advantage was not mentioned, though. Many multilinguals report different personalities, or even different worldviews, when they speak their different languages.

(2) It’s an exciting notion, the idea that one’s very self could be broadened by the mastery of two or more languages. In obvious ways (exposure to new friends, literature and so forth) the self really is broadened. Yet it is different to claim — as many people do — to have a different personality when using a different language. A former Economist colleague, for example, reported being ruder in Hebrew than in English. So what is going on here?

(3) Benjamin Lee Whorf, an American linguist who died in 1941, held that each language encodes a worldview that significantly influences its speakers. Often called “Whorfianism”, this idea has its sceptics, but there are still good reasons to believe language shapes thought.

(4) This influence is not necessarily linked to the vocabulary or grammar of a second language. Significantly, most people are not symmetrically bilingual. Many have learned one language at home from parents, and another later in life, usually at school. So bilinguals usually have different strengths and weaknesses in their different languages — and they are not always best in their first language. For example, when tested in a foreign language, people are less likely to fall into a cognitive trap (answering a test question with an obvious-seeming but wrong answer) than when tested in their native language. In part this is because working in a second language slows down the thinking. No wonder people feel different when speaking them. And no wonder they feel looser, more spontaneous, perhaps more assertive or funnier or blunter, in the language they were reared in from childhood.

(5) What of “crib” bilinguals, raised in two languages? Even they do not usually have perfectly symmetrical competence in their two languages. But even for a speaker whose two languages are very nearly the same in ability, there is another big reason that person will feel different in the two languages. This is because there is an important distinction between bilingualism and biculturalism.

(6) Many bilinguals are not bicultural. But some are. And of those bicultural bilinguals, we should be little surprised that they feel different in their two languages. Experiments in psychology have shown the power of “priming” — small unnoticed factors that can affect behavior in big ways. Asking people to tell a happy story, for example, will put them in a better mood. The choice between two languages is a huge prime. Speaking Spanish rather than English, for a bilingual and bicultural Puerto Rican in New York, might conjure feelings of family and home. Switching to English might prime the same person to think of school and work.

(7) So there are two very good reasons (asymmetrical ability, and priming) that make people feel different speaking their different languages. We are still left with a third kind of argument, though. An economist recently interviewed here at Prospero, Athanasia Chalari, said for example that:

Greeks are very loud and they interrupt each other very often. The reason for that is the Greek grammar and syntax. When Greeks talk they begin their sentences with verbs and the form of the verb includes a lot of information so you already know what they are talking about after the first word and can interrupt more easily.

(8) Is there something intrinsic to the Greek language that encourages Greeks to interrupt? People seem to enjoy telling tales about their languages’ inherent properties, and how they influence their speakers. A group of French intellectual worthies once proposed, rather self-flatteringly, that French be the sole legal language of the EU, because of its supposedly unmatchable rigor and precision. Some Germans believe that frequently putting the verb at the end of a sentence makes the language especially logical. But language myths are not always self-flattering: many speakers think their languages are unusually illogical or difficult

— witness the plethora of books along the lines of “Only in English do you park on a driveway and drive on a parkway; English must be the craziest language in the world!” We also see some unsurprising overlap with national stereotypes and self-stereotypes: French, rigorous; German, logical; English, playful. Of course.

(9) In this case, Ms Chalari, a scholar, at least proposed a specific and plausible line of causation from grammar to personality: in Greek, the verb comes first, and it carries a lot of information, hence easy interrupting. The problem is that many unrelated languages all around the world put the verb at the beginning of sentences. Many languages all around the world are heavily inflected, encoding lots of information in verbs. It would be a striking finding if all of these unrelated languages had speakers more prone to interrupting each other. Welsh, for example, is also both verb-first and about as heavily inflected as Greek, but the Welsh are not known as pushy conversationalists.

16. According to the author, which of the following advantages of bilingualism is commonly accepted?

A. Personality improvement.

B. Better task performance.

C. Change of worldviews.

D. Avoidance of old-age disease.

17. According to the passage, that language influences thought may be related to  .

A. the vocabulary of a second language

B. the grammar of a second language

C. the improved test performance in a second language

D. the slowdown of thinking in a second language

18. What is the author’s response to the question at the beginning of Para. 8?

A. It’s just one of the popular tales of national stereotypes.

B. Some properties inherent can make a language logical.

C. German and French are good examples of Whorfianism.

D. There is adequate evidence to support a positive answer.

19. Which of the following statements concerning Para. 9 is correct?

A. Ms Chalari’s theory about the Greek language is well grounded.

B. Speakers of many other languages are also prone to interrupting.

C. Grammar is unnecessarily a condition for change in personality.

D. Many unrelated languages don’t have the same features as Greek.

20. In discussing the issue, the author’s attitude is  .

A. satirical

B. objective

C. critical

D. ambivalent

(1) Once across the river and into the wholesale district, she glanced about her for some likely door at which to apply. As she contemplated the wide windows and imposing signs, she became conscious of being gazed upon and understood for what she was — a wage-seeker. She had never done this thing before, and lacked courage. To avoid a certain indefinable shame she felt at being caught spying about for a position, she quickened her steps and assumed an air of indifference supposedly common to one upon an errand. In this way she passed many manufacturing and wholesale houses without once glancing in. At last, after several blocks of walking, she felt that this would not do, and began to look about again, though without relaxing her pace. A little way on she saw a great door which, for some reason, attracted her attention. It was ornamented by a small brass sign, and seemed to be the entrance to a vast hive of six or seven floors. “Perhaps,” she thought, “they may want someone,” and crossed over to enter. When she came within a score of feet of the desired goal, she observed a young gentleman in a grey checked suit, fumbling his watch-chain and looking out. That he had anything to do with the concern she could not tell, but because

he happened to be looking in her direction, her weakening heart misgave her and she hurried by, too overcome with shame to enter in. After several blocks of walking, in which the uproar of the streets and the novelty of the situation had time to wear away the effect of her first defeat, she again looked about. Over the way stood a great six-story structure, labeled “Storm and King”, which she viewed with rising hope. It was a wholesale dry goods concern and employed women. She could see them moving about now and then upon the upper floors. This place she decided to enter, no matter what. She crossed over and walked directly toward the entrance. As she did so two men came out and paused in the door. A telegraph messenger in blue dashed past her and up the few steps which graced the entrance and disappeared. Several pedestrians out of the hurrying throng which filled the sidewalks passed about her as she paused, hesitating. She looked helplessly around and then, seeing herself observed, retreated. It was too difficult a task. She could not go past them.

(2) So severe a defeat told sadly upon her nerves. She could scarcely understand her weakness and yet she could not think of gazing inquiringly about upon the surrounding scene. Her feet carried her mechanically forward, every foot of her progress being a satisfactory portion of a flight which she gladly made. Block after block passed by. Upon street lamps at the various corners she read names such as Madison, Monroe, La Salle, Clark, Dearborn; and still she went, her feet beginning to tire upon the broad stone flagging. She was pleased in part that the streets were bright and clean. The morning sun shining down with steadily increasing warmth made the shady side of the streets pleasantly cool. She looked at the blue sky overhead with more realization of its charm than had ever come to her before.

(3) Her cowardice began to trouble her in a way. She turned back along the street she had come, resolving to hunt up Storm and King and enter in. On the way she encountered a great wholesale shoe company, through the broad plate windows of which she saw an enclosed executive department, hidden by frosted glass. Without this enclosure, but just within the street entrance, sat a grey-haired gentleman at a small table, with a large open ledger of some kind before him. She walked by this institution several times hesitating, but finding herself unobserved she eventually gathered sufficient courage to faltered past the screen door and stood humble waiting.

(4) “Well, young lady,” observed the old gentleman, looking at her somewhat kindly, “what is it you wish?”

(5) “I am, that is, do you — I mean, do you need any help?” she stammered.

(6) “Not just at present,” he answered smiling. “Not just at present. Come in sometime next week. Occasionally we need someone.”

(7) She received the answer in silence and backed awkwardly out. The pleasant nature of her reception rather astonished her. She had expected that it would be more difficult, that something cold and harsh would be said — she knew not what. That she had not been put to shame and made to feel her unfortunate position, seemed remarkable. She did not realize that it was just this which made her experience easy, but the result was the same. She felt greatly relieved.

(8) Somewhat encouraged, she ventured into another large structure. It was a clothing company, and more people were in evidence.

(9) An office boy approached her.

(10) “Who is it you wish to see?” he asked.

(11) “I want to see the manager,” she returned.

(12) He ran away and spoke to one of a group of three men who were conferring together. One broke off and came towards her.

(13) “Well?” he said coldly. The greeting drove all courage from her at once.

(14) “Do you need any help?” she stammered.

(15) “No,” he replied abruptly, and turned upon his heel.

(16) She went foolishly out, the office boy deferentially swinging the door for her, and gladly sank into the obscuring crowd. It was a severe set-back to her recently pleased mental state.

21. She quickened her steps because she  .

A. was afraid of being seen as a stranger

B. was in a hurry to leave the district

C. wanted to look like someone working there

D. wanted to apply at more factories that day

22. Why didn’t she enter Storm and King the first time?

A. She was too timid to enter the building.

B. Two men stopped at the entrance.

C. Several pedestrians had found her strange.

D. The messenger had closed the door behind him.

23. What does “every foot of her progress being a satisfactory portion of a flight which she gladly made” mean according to the context (Para. 2)?

A. She thought she was making progress in job search.

B. She was glad that she was looking for a job.

C. She found her experience satisfactory.

D. She just wanted to leave the place.

24. Why did she feel greatly relieved (Para. 7)?

A. She eventually managed to enter the building.

B. She was kindly received by the clerk.

C. She had the courage to make an inquiry.

D. She was promised a work position.

In this section there are eight short answer questions based on the passages in Section A. Answer each question in NO MORE THAN TEN WORDS in the space provided on ANSWER SHEET TWO.

25. What do “promise” and “should” in Para. 2 imply about the author’s vision of Australia’s economy?

26. Explain the meaning of “the growth of national groups” according to the context (Para. 7).

27. Explain the meaning of “The choice between two languages is a huge prime.” according to the context (Para. 6).

28. What reasons does the author give to explain why people feel different when speaking different languages?

29. What does the author focus on in the passage?

30. Select and write down at least THREE words or phrases in Para. 1 describing the girl’s inner feelings while walking in the streets looking for a job.

31. Explain the meaning of “So severe a defeat told sadly upon her nerves.” according to the context (Para. 2).

32. In “It was a severe set-back to her recently pleased mental state.” (Para. 16), what does “her recently pleased mental state” refer to according to the context?

The passage contains TEN errors. Each indicated line contains a maximum of ONE error. In each case, only ONE word is involved. You should proof-read the passage and correct it in the following way:

For a wrong word, underline the wrong word and write the correct one in the blank provided

at the end of the line.

For a missing word, mark the position of the missing word with a “∧” sign and write the

word you believe to be missing in the blank provided at the end of the line.

For an unnecessary word, cross the unnecessary word with a slash “/” and put the word in the blank

provided at the end of the line.

Example

When  ∧ art museum wants a new exhibit, (1)  an

it never buys things in finished form and hangs (2)  never  them on the wall. When a natural history museum

wants an exhibition, is must often build it. (3)  exhibit

Proofread the given passage on ANSWER SHEET THREE as instructed.

Translate the underlined part of the following text into English. Write your translation on ANSWER SHEET THREE.

文学书籍起码使我们的内心可以达到这样的三感：善感、敏感和美感。生活不如意时，文学书籍给我们提供了可以达到一种比现实更美好的境界——书里面的水可能比我们现实生活中的水要清，天比我们现实中的天要蓝；现实中没有完美的爱情，但在书里有永恒的《梁山伯与祝英台》和《罗密欧与朱丽叶》。读书，会弥补我们现实生活中所存在的不堪和粗糙。

The following are two excerpts about perfection. Read the two excerpts carefully and write an article of NO LESS THAN 300 WORDS, in which you should:

1. summarize the main arguments in the two excerpts, and then

2. express your opinion on perfection, especially on whether aiming for perfection matters in whatever you do.

You can support yourself with information from the excerpts.

Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality.

Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.

Write your article on ANSWER SHEET FOUR.

Headmistress tells pupils not to fret about exams

Pupils should not worry about their exam results because no one will remember them in years to come, the head of a leading girls’ school has said.

Judith Carlisle, headmistress of Oxford High School, said there was no point fretting over GCSEs because no one will “give a damn” about results — and because they don’t reflect character.

She is running a “Death of Little Miss Perfect” initiative at the private school to combat perfectionism in her students.

“Perfectionism is only captured in a moment — it’s not achievable longer term,” she said. “It undermines self-esteem and then performance.

Miss Carlisle said that students don’t always need to aim for 100 per cent, and if they do need an A grade to attend their university of choice, it’s not necessary to get the highest A possible.

She said: “It matters, but sometimes it probably won’t matter. It’s important [the girls are] not going for things that if they don’t get it, it will destroy them. Exams aren’t who they are — it’s what they did on that day.’

She said: “There’s unhelpful perfectionism as opposed to high standards. It’s not that we’re aiming to undermine high standards — it will actually help you achieve higher standards.”

--HE END--

SECTION A MINI-LECTURE

下列各题必须使用黑色字迹签字笔在答题区域内作答，超出矩形边框限定区域的答案无效。

ANSWER SHEET 3 (TEM 8)

PART III LANGUAGE USAGE

下列各题必须使用黑色字迹签字笔在答题区域内作答，超出矩形边框限定区域的答案无效。