2010 年北京大学考博英语真题
Part One: Listening Comprehension
There are 3 sections in this part.
In sections A and B you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then
choose the correct answer for each question. Mark your choices on your ANSWER SHEET.
Section A: Conversations (5%)
Directions: In this section you will hear several conversations. Listen to the
conversations carefully and then answer the questions that follow.
Questions 1 to 3 are based on the following conversation. At the end of the
conversation, you will be given 15 seconds to answer the questions.
Now listen to the conversation.
1. Which is NOT the purpose of Mr. Lewis’ visit?
A. To see friends.
B. To give concerts.
C. To vacation.
D. To give private lessons.
2. What kind of cello did Mr. Lewis use when he was eight?
A. A full-sized cello.
B. A half-sized cello.
C. A two-thirds-sized cello.
D. It is not mentioned.
3. What is true about Mr. Lewis’ cello?
A. He always takes it with him.
B. It was made by his uncle.
C. He borrowed it from his uncle.
D. He got a seat free for his cello.
Questions 4 to 7 are based on the following conversation. At the end of the
conversation, you will be given 20 seconds to answer the questions.
Now listen to the conversation.
4. What is the main purpose of the research?
A. To make preparations for a new publication.
B. To learn how couples spend their weekends.
C. To know how housework is shared.
D. To investigate what people do at the weekend.
5. What does the man do on Fridays?
A. He goes to exercise classes.
B. He goes sailing.
C. He goes to the cinema.
D. He stays at home.
6. On which day does the couple always go out?
A. Friday.
B. Saturday.
C. Sunday.
D. Any weekday.
7. Which personal detail does the man give?
A. Surname.
B. First name.
C. Address.
D. Age.
Questions 8 to 10 are based on the following conversation. At the end of the
conversation, you will be given 15 seconds to answer the questions.
Now listen to the conversation.
8. What conclusion can we draw about Mike before he went to the camping school?
A. He was eager to do the course.
B. He had done outdoor activities.
C. He enjoyed life in the open.
D. He was reluctant and timid.
9. Mike participated in all the following activities EXCEPT _______.
A. hiking.
B. canoeing
C. swimming
D. camping
10. Which of the following words is most appropriate to describe Mike after the
camping school?
A. Independent.
B. Strong.
C. Determined.
D. Persistent.
Section B: Talks (5%)
Directions: In this section, you will hear several talks. Listen to the talks
carefully and then answer the questions that follow.
Questions 11 to 13 are based on the following talk. At the end of the talk, you will
be given 15 seconds to answer the questions.
Now listen to the talk.
11. What happened on January 27th, 1967?
A. Three men were injured during a fire.
B. One man died during the fire accident.
C. A fire started inside a spaceship.
D. A spaceship was launched.
12. What happened in 1981?
A. The space program was suspended.
B. Five men were injured during an accident.
C. The accident occurred before the rehearsal.
D. No accident happened that year.
13. What does the talk say about accidents?
A. Accidents are unavoidable.
B. Accidents can be avoided.
C. Human beings are always careless.
D. There should be more precautions.
Questions 14 to 17 are based on the following talk. At the end of the talk, you will
be given 20 seconds to answer the questions.
Now listen to the talk.
14. BBC’s weather forecast is a ______ program.
A. seldom watched
B. little known
C. new
D. popular
15. Weather observations come from all the following sources EXCEPT _______.
A. computers
B. satellites
C. the ground
D. radar
16. What does the talk say about BBC’s forecasters?
A. They read from script.
B. They are professional.
C. They use a map for presentation.
D. They care about their clothes.
17. What does the talk say about British television viewers?
A. They remember what they saw on weather forecasts.
B. They like talking about weather instead of watching.
C. They pay more attention to the style of the presenters.
D. They watch and remember what is necessary.
Questions 18 to 20 are based on the following talk. At the end of the talk, you will
be given 15 seconds to answer the questions.
Now listen to the talk.
18. Which is NOT showing an increase this year?
A. Number of tourists.
B. Holiday travelers.
C. Shopping.
D. Dining and entertaining.
19. What does the talk say about this year’s business travelers?
A. There are fewer business travelers.
B. There are more business travelers.
C. The number remains the same as last year’s.
D. It is not mentioned in the talk.
20. Which is the largest single visitor expenditure?
A. Hotel accommodation.
B. Meals.
C. Shopping.
D. Entertainment.
Section C: Spot Dictation (10%)
Directions: In this section you are going to hear a report on the strong link between
sleep and fatal accident. Some words are taken out and you are expected to fill in
the missing words as you listen. The report will be read TWICE and you will have
one minute to check your work. Then put your answers on ANSWER SHEET (2).
Now listen to the report.
Inadequate rest means a weaker (C1)__________ system, laying the body open to
a whole
(C2)
and a
________ of illnesses. On the average a man needs seven hours of sleep a day
woman seven and a (C3)__________ hours. Six hours of (C4) __________ sleep is better
than ten
hours of (C5)__________ and turning, however. People who sleep less than six hours
a night are
(C6) __________ for an early death.
Some people (C7)__________ that they can get by with little sleep when necessary.
But
experts think these people are (C8) ___________ themselves.
Between sleep (C9)__________ and fatal accidents there is an obvious (C10)
__________.
People who get (C11) ___________ sleep or poor quality sleep have a higher risk of
(C12) __________ on the road. They are more likely to fall asleep at the (C13)
__________
and kill people or get killed. Professional drivers and (C14) __________ workers
are
most likely to take the (C15) __________.The performance at work also (C16)
__________
because of sleep deprivation.
The pressures of work deprive people of sleep. To make it up, they try to
(C17) __________ catnaps. But experts are a little (C18) __________ about the
benefits of
catnapping. They tell us that the catnap can never be a
sleep.
(C19) __________ for proper
(C20) ___________ , catnapping in the day is the worst thing they
For victims of
can possibly
do.
(This is the end of listening comprehension.)
Part Two: Structure and Written Expression (20%)
Directions: In each question decide which of the four choices given will most
suitably complete the sentence if inserted at the place marked. Mark your choices
on the ANSWER SHEET.
21. The nuclear family
of father, mother and children.
A. refers to
B. defines
a self-contained, self-satisfying unit composed
C. describes
D. devotes to
22. Some polls show that roughly two-thirds of the general public believe that
elderly Americans are
A. reproached
by social isolation and loneliness.
D. reprehended
B. favored
C. plagued
23. In addition to bettering group and individual performance, cooperation
the quality of interpersonal relationship.
A. ascends
C. enhances
D. prefers
B. compels
24. In the past 50 years, there ___ a great increase in the amount of research ___
on the human brain.
A. was…did
C. was… doing
B. has been… to be done
D. has been…done
25. “I must have eaten something wrong. I feel like_____. “
“We told you not to eat at a restaurant. You’d better _
are not in the shape.”
A. to throw up… to eat
C. to throw up.. eat
B. throwing up… eating
D. throwing up.. eat
__ at home when you
26. Parents have to show due concerns to their children’s creativity and emotional
output; otherwise what they think beneficial to the kids might probably _________
their enthusiasm and aspirations.
A. hold back
C. hold down
D. hold over
B. hold to
27. According to psychoanalysis, a person’s attention is attracted ___
intensity of different signals
information content.
A. not less than….as
C. so much…as
D. not so much …. as
__ by the
by their context, significance, and
B. as…just as
28. They moved to Portland in 1998 and lived in a big house, __
A. the windows of which opened
C. its windows opened
B. the windows of it opened
D. the windows of which opening
__ to the south.
29. The lady who has _______ for a night in the dead of the winter later turned out
to be a distant relation of his.
A. put him up
him in
B. put him out
C. put him on
put
D.
30. Bystanders, ________, _______ as they walked past lines of ambulances.
A. bloody and covered with dust, looking
dazed
C. bloody and covered with dust, looked
dazed
B. bloodied and covered with dust, looked
dazed
D. bloodied and covered with dust, looking
dazed
31. Hong Kong was not a target for terror attacks, the Government insisted yesterday,
as the US ________ closed for an apparent security review.
A. Consulation
B. Constitution
C. Consulate
D. Consular
32. American fans have selected Yao in a vote for the All-Star game ________ the
legendary
O’Neal, who _______ the “Great Wall” at the weekend as the Rockets beat the Los
Angeles
Lakers.
A. in head of, ran on
C. ahead of, ran onto
B. in head of, ran into
D. ahead of, ran into
33. Professional archivists and librarians have the resources to duplicate materials
in other formats and the expertise to retrieve materials trapped in
_______
computers.
A. abstract
C. obstinate
B. obsolete
D. obese
34. She always prints important documents and stores a backup set at her house. “I
actually think there ’ s something about the _______ of paper that feels more
comforting,” she said.
A. tangibility
D. tantalization
B. tangledness
C. tangent
35. “ They said what we always knew, ” said an administration source,
____________________.
A. he asked not to be named
C. who asked not be named
B. who asked not to be named
D. who asked not named
36. In Germany, the industrial giants DaimlerChrysler and Siemens recently _______
their unions into signing contracts that lengthen work hours without increasing pay.
A. muscled
C. mushed
B. moved
D. muted
37. He argues that the policy has done little to ease joblessness, and has left the
country _______.
A. energized
B. enervated
D. enacted
C. nerved
38. The more people hear his demented rants, the more they see that he is a terrorist
_______.
A. who is pure and simple
C. pure and simple
B. being pure and simple
D. as pure and simple
39. This expansion of rights has led to both a paralysis of the public service and
to a rapid and terrible _______ in the character of the population.
A. determination
B. deterioration
D. desperation
C. desolation
40. _______ a declining birth rate, there will be an over-supply of 27,000 primary
school places by 2010, _______ leaving 35 schools idle.
A. Coupled with, equals to
C. Coupled with, equivalent to
B. Coupling with, equivalent to
D. Coupling with, equals to
Part Three: Reading Comprehension
I.
Directions: Each of the following three passages is followed by some
questions. For each question four answers are given. Read the passages
carefully and choose the best answer to each question. Mark your choices on
the ANSWER SHEET. (10%)
Passage One
The Hero
My mother’s parents came from Hungary, but my grandfather could trace his origin
to Germany and also he was educated in Germany. Although he was able to hold a
conversation in nine languages, he was most comfortable in German. Every morning,
before going to his office, he read the German language newspaper, which was American
owned and published in New York.
My grandfather was the only one in his family to come to the United States with
his wife and children. He still had relatives living in Europe. When the first world
war broke out, he lamented the fact that if my uncle, his only son had to go, it
would be cousin fighting against cousin. In the early days of the war, my grandmother
begged him to stop taking the German newspaper and to take an English language
newspaper, instead. He scoffed at the idea, explaining that the fact it was in German
did not make it a German newspaper, but only an American newspaper, printed in German.
But my grandmother insisted, for fear that the neighbors may see him read it and
think he was German. So, he finally gave up the German newspaper.
One day, the inevitable happened and my uncle Milton received notice to join
the army。My grandparents were very upset, but my mother, his little sister, was
excited. Now she could boast about her soldier brother going off to war. She was
ten years old at the time, and my uncle, realizing how he was regarded by his little
sister and her friends, went out and bought them all service pins,which meant that
they had a loved one in the service. All the little girls were delighted. When the
day came for him to leave, his whole regiment, in their uniforms, left together from
the same train station. There was a band playing and my mother and her friends came
to see him off. Each one wore her service pin and waved a small American flag, cheering
the boys, as they left.
The moment came and the soldiers, all very young, none of whom had had any
training, but who had nevertheless all been issued uniforms, boarded the train. The
band played and the crowd cheered. The train groaned as if it knew the destiny to
which it was taking its passengers, but it soon began to move. Still cheering and
waving their flags, the band still playing, the train slowly departed the station.
It had gone about a thousand yards when it suddenly ground to a halt. The band
stopped playing, the crowd stopped cheering. Everyone gazed in wonder as the train
slowly backed up and returned to the station. It seemed an eternity until the doors
opened and the men started to file out. Someone shouted, “It’s the armistice. The
war is over.” For a moment, nobody moved, but then the people heard someone bark
orders at the soldiers. The men lined up and formed into two lines. They walked down
the steps and, with the band playing behind, paraded down the street, as returning
heroes, to be welcomed home by the assembled crowd. The next day my uncle returned
to his job, and my grandfather resumed reading the German newspaper, which he read