2010 年 3 月公共英语三级考试真题
SECTION I Listening Comprehension
(25 minutes)
1-25 略
SECTION Ⅱ Use of
(15 minutes)
English
Directions:
Read the following text. Choose the best word or phrase for each numbered blank and
mark A, B, C, or D on ANSWER SHEET 1.
Even today in the modern, developed world, surveys show that parents still prefer
to have a boy rather than a girl. One longstanding reason why boys have been __26__
as a greater blessing has been that they are __27__ to become better economic
providers __28__ their parents’ old age. Yet it is time for parents to __29__ again.
Girls may now be a better investment.
Girls get better __30__ at school than boys, and in most developed countries more
women than men go to __31__. Women will thus be better __32__ for the new jobs of
the __21__st century, in which brains __33__ a lot more than physical strength. In
Britain far more women than men are now __34__ to become doctors. And women are more
__35__ to provide sound advice on investing their parents’ nest egg. Surveys show
that women consistently __36__ higher financial returns than men do.
__37__, the increase in female employment in the rich world has been the main __38__
force of growth in the past couple of decades. Those women have __39__ more to global
GDP growth than have either new technology or the new giants, China and India. Add
the __40__ of housework and child-rearing, and women probably account __41__ just
over half of the world output. It is __42__ that woman still get paid less and few
__43__ it to the top of companies, but, __44__ prejudice fades over coming years,
women will have great scope to __45__ their productivity and incomes.
26. A. seen
noticed
27. A. forced
trained
28. A. with
D. in
29. A. discuss
try
30. A. chances
grades
31. A. university
class
32. A. treated
provided
B. persuaded
C. expected
B. equipped
C. arranged
B. observed
C. watched
B. jobs
B. work
B. imagine
C. think
B. for
C. courses
C. school
C. to
D.
D.
D.
D.
D.
D.
B. bold
B. about
B. climb
D.
D.
B. count
C. develop
B. accept
C. attract
B. Therefore
C. Instead
B. dreaming
C. training
D.
D.
D.
D.
D.
B. balancing
C. determined
B. contributed
C. distributed
C. compensating
33. A. apply
manage
34. A. tending
demanding
35. A. courageous
likely
36. A. achieve
adopt
37. A. However
Furthermore
38. A. driving
promising
39. A. attributed
dedicated
40. A. value
D. revenue
41. A. as
D. with
42. A. dangerous
true
43. A. get
D. arrive
44. A. unless
D. though
45. A. harvest
D. increase
SECTION Ⅲ Reading Comprehension
(40 minutes)
Part A
Directions:
Read the following three texts. Answer thequestions on each text by choosing A, B,
C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWERSHEET 1.
C. stretch
B. as
B. gain
C. for
D.
C. make
C. since
B. likely
C. natural
B. profit
C. benefit
Text 1
Help,I’ve fallen into a sea of personal identification numbers (PIN) — and
I can’tget out.
It’s my third call in as many weeks and I recognize Beth’s voice immediately. I’
m hoping she doesn’t recognize mine, but it’s obvious by her sudden shift from
warm to frosty that she does. “You probably know why I’ve called,” I say. “I
can guess,” Beth responds flatly, having dealt with my type dozens of times already
today. “Password problem?” She was right, I had forgotten it again.
Like millions of others, I’m stuck in password hell. With computer key chains,
bankcard PINs, voice-mail codes, and home alarm systems, things have spun out
ofcontrol. I have 32 secret codes (that I can think of).
Experts warn that the best way to protect against identity theft is to never
reuse orwrite down your passwords and always be casual in your selections — don’
t usepet names, or especially the names of ex-girlfriends. And it’s recommended
to change passwords often. But come on. Making it impossible for others to accessyour
life only makes living your life impossible. Surveys indicate that mostpeople use
the same one or two passwords for everything. After all, it’s not easy to produce
something casual, yet memorable. “When the information doesn’t apply to anything
in the real world, it’s very hard to get from the brain,”says Albert Katz, a
psychology professor. That’s why some are shifting topicture passwords. Since the
pictures can’t be written down or shared with another person, they’re more secure.
And pictures, says Katz, are easier for the human brain to remember than numbers
and letters.
Better still is the day when access to everything will be just a fingerprint.
But poorBeth will remain my Internet-banking savior. “All you need to do,” says
Beth, “istell me the secret password you set up for security purposes.” What? If
I can’tremember my PIN, how do you expect me to remember some secret word? But on
mythird try I guess it and am once again allowed access to my very small fortune.I
thank Beth, but don’t make any promises. Both of us know we’ll speak again soon.
46. From the text we learn that the writer _______.
A. has a declining memory
B. has too many secret codes
C. has trouble dealing with Beth
D. has problems with his bank accounts
47. According to the text, Beth replied to the writer ______.
A.
B.sympathetically
C. considerately
uncooperatively
D.impatiently
48. It is recommended by experts to ______.
A. use the same one or two PINs all the time
B. keep passwords in mind instead of on paper
C. set up several codes for Internet-banking accounts
D. keep both number passwords and picture passwords
49. It would be easier to memorize your PINs if you ______.
A. produce them in a casual manner
B. use numbers instead of letters
C. relate them to the real world
D. change them frequently
50. Which word best describes the tone of the writer?
A.
B.Scornful
C.
D.Matter-of-fact
Text 2
Critical.
Humorous
Identical twins are a perfect test case for theories of personality
development. If a theory can’t explain the differences between identical twins,
then it cannot explain environmental effects on personality. Even identical twins
brought up in the same home have different personalities.
Take Ladan and Laleh Bijani from Iran. They were identical twins who had spent
their entire 29 years joined at the head. And yet, Ladan, the more outspoken of
thepair, told journalists, “We are two completely separate individuals. We have
different world views, we have different lifestyles, we think very differently about
issues.” Why did Ladan and Laleh have different personalities?
Self-organized systems in insects can provide us with some ideas. A colony of
ants, for example, can be seen as a self-organized system. No supervisor tells the
ants what to do, and yet all the jobs get done. The system works in such a way that
if one ant carries out a particular job, it becomes less likely that anotherant will
attempt that job because it no longer needs doing. The result is whateconomists call
“division of labor.”
Self-organizational so produces division of labor in human groups. Each
individual looks forsomething to specialize in, his or her own suitable position
in the group. Ifone position is occupied, the individual will seek another. This
process increases the differences even between identical twins, because once they’
ve chosen different specialities, a circular mechanism causes small initial
differences between them to widen.
Although identical twins look very much alike, people who know them well will
distinguish between them. They might, for example, address more questions
andcomments to one twin than the other — perhaps by chance first. But the
consequence is that the twin who is addressed more often will do more talking than
the other twin, which will cause people who know them to address still more of their
questions and comments to that twin. The result, over time, will be one outspoken
twin and one quieter one — like Ladan and Laleh Bijiani.
51. According to the writer we learn that identical twins ______.
A. differ in personality
B. differ in appearance
C. have the same lifestyle
D. have the same outlook
52. The ant colony is perceived to be well-organized because ______.
A. each ant has the duty to help others on a job
B. each ant instinctively fulfills a different task
C. a particular group of ants does a particular job
D. a leading ant monitors the work of working ants
53. It is said in the text that the working style of ants ischaracterized by ______.
B.working
A. shifting roles
shifts
C. division of labor
D.collective
efforts
54. It can be inferred that the twin’s differences have much to dowith _______.
A. their chosen lifestyles
B. their respective responsibilities
C. either physical or social factors
D. influences from inside and outside
55. The purpose of the text is to _______.
A. entertain
C. inform
Text 3
B.persuade
D.argue
Bernard Jackson is a free man today, but he has many bitter memories. Jackson
spentfive years in prison after a jury wrongly convicted him of raping two women.
AtJackson’s trial, although two witnesses testified that Jackson was with them in
another location at the times of the crimes, he was convicted anyway. Why? Thejury
believed the testimony of the two victims, who positively identified Jackson as the
man who had attacked them. The court eventually freed Jacksonafter the police found
the man who had really committed the crimes.
Many factors influence the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. For instance,
witnesses sometimes see photographs of several suspects before they try to identify
theperson they saw in a lineup of people. They can become confused by seeing many
photographs of similar faces. The number of people in the lineup, and whetherit is
a live lineup or a photograph, may also affect a witness’s decision.People sometimes
have difficulty identifying people of other races. The questions the police ask
witnesses also have an effect on them.
for
Despiteall
the
inaccuracy,
possibilities
exclude
eyewitnesstestimony from a trial. American courts depend almost completely on
eyewitnesstestimony to resolve court cases. Sometimes it is the only evidence to
a crime,such as rape. Furthermore, eyewitness testimony is often correct.
Althoughpeople
do
sometimes
identifyindividuals correctly.
courts
cannot
they
really
make
do
mistakes,
many
times
American courts depend on the ability of the twelve jurors, and not the judges,
todetermine the accuracy of the witness’s testimony. It is their responsibility
to decide if a certain witness could actually see, hear, and remember what occurred.
Ina few cases the testimony of eyewitnesses has convicted innocent people. More
importantly, it has rightly convicted a larger number of guilty people;consequently,
it continues to be of great value in the American judicial system.
56. Bernard Jackson was found guilty by the jury because ______.
A. the victims insisted that he was the attacker
B. the judge believed in the victims’ identification
C. the police discovered evidence leading to his guilt
D. the eyewitnesses confirmed the victims’ testimony
57. An eyewitness’ testimony is sometimes inaccurate because ______.
A. he is of the same race as the suspect
B. he is shown photos of many similar faces
C. he lacks the professional help from the police
D. he has a small number of suspects in the lineup
58. Eyewitness testimony is vital because ______.
A. it can be relied on to detect criminals in all cases
B. it is sometimes the only way to resolve court cases
C. it is sometimes the only clue for police investigation
D. it is more reliable than physical evidences to a crime
59. An inaccurate eyewitness testimony may lead to ______.
A. the dismissal of the case
B. the disbelief in the court
C. the disrespect for the eyewitness
D. the conviction of an innocent person
60. From the text we know that _______.
A. eyewitness testimony plays an essentialpart in the U.S. court trial
B. police identification is more reliablethan that of ordinary people
C. crime victims often fail to givepositive identification of the suspects
D. the jury relies more on the judge thanon the eyewitness for a decision
Part B
Directions:
Read the texts from a magazine’s LETTERS section in which five people wrote about
happiness. For questions 61 to 65, match the name of each person to one of the
statements (A to G) given below. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.
Erum Nadeem
Your article on happiness lifted my spirits. There is one very interesting aspect
to note: the eight steps to happiness listed on pages 32-33 may as well be
translations of the values of our cultural tradition. If people would see our values
from these aspects, there would be no misunderstanding — only happiness.
Sander Tideman
I applaud your special on the science of happiness. However, the issue would have
been more complete had it mentioned the idea of viewing economic development policies
in the context of “gross national happiness” or GNH. This concept is based on the
recognition that gross national product does not accurately reflect the well-being
of a nation. GNH is a bold idea with far-reaching effects. Since happiness has a
scientific base, it can be developed and promoted on a larger social scale.
Paul Aboh
Happiness is a gift, not a commodity. Even the poor have the ability to cultivate
and share happiness. We can find pleasure in the small things we often take for
granted — a smile, a helping hand, a kiss, a wave, a pat on the back, a glass of
water and a promise kept. And when you discover its source, you know it. Sometimes
happiness overflows, but it never destroys.
Mansoor Malik
Happiness is not a product of achievement or wealth or fame. It is the reaction of
our mind to the environment. Faith in the values of our long-cherished cultural
tradition is a source of well-being. Happiness comes from caring for others and
giving whatever we can—help, hope, love, respect, sympathy or just a smile.
Peter Fischer
At a time when there seem to be so many reasons for being unhappy, I appreciated
your special report on happiness. Surely the poorest kids in Africa who are without
parents and are often hungry are the ones with the most reasons to be unhappy. What
can possibly make them smile? As your article pointed out, however, we cannot wait
for enough friends or a lot of money to make us happy. We have an amazing capacity
to set ourselves right.
Now match the name of each person (61 to 65) to the appropriate statement.
Note: there are two extra statements.
Statements
61. Erum Nadeem
62. Sander Tideman
of happiness.
63. Paul Aboh
64. Mansoor Malik
65. Peter Fischer
[A] A rich person is not necessarily happy.
[B] Things people often overlook may be the very source
[C] Happiness can be promoted on a scientific basis.
[D] We should mainly rely on ourselves for happiness.
[E] Happiness lies in giving instead of taking.
[F] The environment is a source of happiness.
[G] Happiness can be achieved if we stick to the best of
Writing
our values.
SECTION IV
(40 minutes)
Directions:
You should write your responses to both Part A and Part B of this section on ANSWER
SHEET 2.
Part A
66. Your American friend Peter Jones is coming to your hometown fora one-week visit.
Write to him about:
1) the weather conditions of your hometown for the season;
2) the accommodation arrangements for him;
3) the schedule for his sightseeing activities.
You should write approximately 100 words. Do not sign your own name at the end of
your letter.Use “Wang Lin” instead. You do not need to write the address.
Part B
67. Look at the picture below and write an essay of about 120 words making reference
to the following two points:
1) a description of the picture
2) your attitude towards the phenomenon of private tutors