2023年上外自主招生卷.doc

2023上海外国语大学自主选拔测试
听力略
Already the class is ________ about who our new teacher will be.
A) foreseeing B) speculating C) fabricating D) contemplating

Just because I'm ________ to him, my boss thinks he can order me around without showing me any respect.
A) redundant B) trivial C) versatile D) subordinate

Many scientists remain ________ about the value of this research program.
A) skeptical B) stationary C) spacious D) specific

Depression is often caused by the ________ effects of stress and overwork..
A) total B) increased C) terrific D) cumulative

A human's eyesight is not as ________ as that of an eagle.
A) eccentric B) acute C) sensible D) sensitive

We'll be very careful and keep what you've told us strictly ________.
A) rigorous B) confidential C) private D) mysterious

The members of Parliament were ________ that the government had not consulted them.
A) impatient B) tolerant C) crude D) indignant

He is the only person who can ____ in this case, because the other witnesses were killed mysteriously.
A) testify B) charge C) accuse D) rectify

The financial problem of this company is further ____ by the rise in interest rates.
A) increased B) strengthened C) reinforced D) aggravated
We shall probably never be able to ____ the exact nature of these sub-atomic particles.
A) assert B) impart C) ascertain D) notify

Many years had ____ before they returned to their original urban areas.
A) floated B) elapsed C) skipped D) proceeded

Military orders are ____ and cannot be disobeyed.
A) defective B) conservative C) alternative D) imperative

Some educators try to put students of similar abilities into the same class because they believe this kind of ____ grouping is advisable.
A) homogeneous B) instantaneous C) spontaneous D) anonymous

The commission would find itself ____ at every turn if its members couldn't reach an agreement.
A) collided B) savaged C) crumbled D) hampered

Grain production in the world is _____, but still millions go hungry.
A) staggering B) shrinking C) soaring D) suspending

He developed a ____ attitude after years of frustration in his career.
A) sneaking B) disgusted C) drastic D) cynical

They believed that this was not the ____ of their campaign for equality but merely the beginning.
A) climax B) summit C) pitch D) maximum

Several guests were waiting in the ____ for the front door to open.
A) porch B) vent C) inlet D) entry
As the mountains were covered with a _____ of cloud, we couldn't see their tops.
A) coating B) film C) veil D) shade

We couldn't really afford to buy a house so we got it on hire purchase and paid monthly ____.
A) investments B) requirements C) arrangements D) installments

He began to dismantle segregation within the armed forces.
A. disassemble B.disgrace C.knock down D.tackle
The employer was forced to allay the tumult.
A. dispel B.alleviate C.lessen D.oppress
The speaker had a really noble voice which he could modulate with great skill.
A. soften B.harden C.deprive D.adjust
I guess ignorance must be a sin.
A. guilt B.color C.deviation D.divergence
He beguiled me into lending him my bicycle.
A. charm B.retreat C.setback D.deceive
There are many legends about the heroes of antiquity.
A. icebergs B.ancientness C.drawback D.relic
He shouted in an exasperate voice.
A.shocking B.exciting C.infuriating D.bile
The largest stones weigh over five tonnes apiece.
A.respectively B.marketing C.auspicious D.furious
She was quite adamant that she would not come.
A.obsolete B.obstinate C.obliterate D.oblivion
Our office is really stuffy.
A.fragrant B.vent C.draught D.airless
(1)
Growing up on Long Island with five brothers, Meaghan Repko never intended to go to a women’s college. “Never!” she repeats, for emphasis.
She envisioned such schools as insular little worlds with students and professors beating the drum of girl power and gender politics--- stifling, angry places, to be sure. Plus, she figured she’d kind of miss having guys around.
Then she visited Hood College. And now Repko, a 22-year-old senior there, can’t say enough good things about the women dominated enclave she found on the red-brick campus in Frederick. “It’s an environment where you can feel free to say what you want,” she said. “The friendships and the bonds are so amazing--- it’s like a sisterhood.”
Students like Repko were the nagging paradox that confronted Hood officials as they decided Thursday to admit men to its residential program, starting next fall, for the first time in its 109-year history.
Like many women’s colleges, Hood had seen its student population shrink substantially in the past 20 years; this year’s enrollment of about 1,700 includes 873 graduate students. Recent surveys cited by the school found barely 3 percent of high school girls seriously interested in attending a women’s college.
Most Hood students, in fact, say they came for strong academics or a good financial aid package—if anything, in spite of the single-sex setting. Yet they were the ones who emerged as the fiercest defenders of the women-only tradition at Hood, and the ones most deeply mourning the change.
At the official announcement on campus Friday, students said, many classmates were in tears. “It’s going to change my college experience,” said Mary Rottman, 19, a junior from Westminster, Md. “I think we’re still in a state of shock.”
Hood officials say the debate never questioned the value of a single-sex education. Rather, they said, Hood was grappling with longtime national trends that have promoted so many women’s colleges to go coed, merge with other institutions or close their doors.
Women’s colleges have struggled to find their place in the higher-education market since the late 1960s, when the vast majority of men’s colleges began opening their doors to women. Only three colleges remain all-male. All-female colleges endured longer by casting themselves as mainstays of tradition or protectors of feminism. Yet their numbers have shrunk dramatically: from nearly 300 in 1960 to fewer than 60 free-standing four-year institutions today.
Hood was able to buck the trend for so many years, college officials said, because of a healthy endowment and a strong regional reputation. Hood even made some delicate steps towards coeducation in the early 1970s, enrolling men as commuter students, though not as campus residents. Men now make up about 13 percent of the enrollment.
Still, from a high of 300 residential freshmen in the late 1970s, Hood enrolled only 110 new students last year—barely one-third the number needed to maintain financial health, officials said. This fall’s first-year class numbered 185. Officials said the gains were the product of an aggressive new admissions staff and are unlikely to be improved upon.
“It’s increasingly difficult to communicate with young high school women about the benefits of a women’s college,” President Ronald J. Volpe said in an interview earlier this month. Volpe said the women’s colleges that have remained in good health either have good relationships with coed schools or large endowments. Wellesley College has more than $1 billion, and the $131 million endowment at Randolph-Macon Women’s College is more than twice that at Hood.
Hood’s faculty had long advocated a switch to coeducation, producing a study two years ago that made a strong case for admitting men. “I’m a proud product of a single-gender institution, but we have to live in the realities of today,” said Anita Jose, an associate professor of management and director of the college’s MBA program.
Faculty members were troubled by declining enrollment’s effect on the school’s finance, after a 5 percent pay cut several years ago and the dropping of two majors. Even the intimacy of Hood’s small classes, some said, had become too much of a good thing.
“In some upper-level classes, you only have three or five students,” said Hoda Zaki, head of the department of history and political science. “It doesn’t generate the kind of discussion you want in the classroom.”
In late August, college officials sent alumni letter updating them on the coeducation discussions. The responses, officials said, was largely supportive. And many students interviewed on campus earlier this month expressed indifference or ambivalence.
Indeed, while angry protests had erupted at other schools making such a transition, such as the Goucher College and the then all-male Washington and Lee University, no organized opposition developed at Hood.
After Friday’s announcement, though, many students said they never had an opportunity to begin a protest because the administration made its decision far faster than they expected.
“We knew it was being discussed, but from what we understood, it would take place within two years, not next year,” Repko said. “Faculty were asked [their opinion] and alumni were asked, but they never asked the students.”
Some students and young alumnae fretted that with the arrival of men, Hood would lose the traditions that defined it for them as their alma mater—the beanie hats that juniors make their “little sister” freshmen wear on campus during the first weeks of school, the chance to wear pajamas to class.
“When you add men to the picture, it changes the aura,” said Jaime Kowzum, 24, a 2023 graduate from Columbia who choked back sobs as she spoke. “What man is going to wear a Hood College ring on his pinkie finger? When I look at my ring, it takes me back to those four years.” Others, though, said they are optimistic that the school’s traditions will find room to grow among the new male students. “Longevity requires a certain acquiescence to what’s going on in the world,” said Emily Johnson, 21, president of the senior class.
She sighed as she described the old Hood as “a slumber party… the best of summer camp.” Still, “I don’t think we’ll ever lose touch with these traditions,” she said. The caretakers are far too vigilant.” (Washington Post, Sunday, October 20; Page C05)
36. The word “insular” in para. 2 most probably means ______.
A) women only
B) narrow minded
C) feminist
D) traditional
37. The chief factors for the attraction of Hood include all the following except ______.
A) the relationship of sisterhood
B) strong academic atmosphere
C) a good financial aid
D) the single-gender environment
38. It is suggested that the key factor threatening the survival of women’s college is ________.
A) the attitude of young women today
B) the amount of endowments
C) the policy of a single gender
D) the demands of modern society
39. “The caretakers are far too vigilant” in the last para. Most probably means ______.
A) the students are too optimistic.
B) the students are too worried.
C) the teachers are too indifferent.
D) the officials are too sensitive.
40. When the old Hood is described as “a slumber party”, the speaker means that students can ______.
A) have a party of a single gender
B) lead a colourful life
C) wear pajamas to class
D) wear a college ring
41. What is the attitude of Hood teachers toward the decision to admit men to its residential program?
A) Positive.
B) Critical.
C) Neutral.
D) Indifferent.
42. What is the feeling of Hood students when they will see male students on campus?
A) Disappointed
B) shocked
C) Mixed
D) Sorrowful
43. What worries Hood students most in terms of the school decision?
A) They won’t have a women-only campus.
B) They won’t have the intimacy of a small class.
C) They won’t enjoy school traditions any longer.
D) They won’t enjoy the privacy of sisterhood.
44. It can be inferred from the essay that the school decision will help ____________.
A) raise academic standards
B) enrich school activities
C) lower college tuition
D) maintain traditional value
45. It seems that students at Hood tend to use _____ to express their opinion in the interview.
A) exaggeration
B) comparison
C) ironic tone
D) bitter words

How Do Internet Search Engines Work?
Javed Mostafa
It has been estimated that the amount of textual information accessible via search engines is at least 40 times larger than the digitized content of all the books in the Library of Congress, the world’s largest library. It is a challenge to provide access to such a large volume of information, yet current search engines do remarkably well in sifting through the content and identifying related links to queries.
There is a multitude of information providers on the web. These include the commonly known and publicly available sources ---- sometimes referred to as the “hidden web”--- is much larger than the public web in terms of the amount of information they provide. This latter group includes sources such as Lexis-Nexis, Dialog and Ingenta. They remain hidden for various reasons: they may not allow other information providers access to their content; they may require subscription; or they may demand payment for access. This article is concerned with the former group, the publicly available web search services, collectively referred to here as search engines.
Search engines employ various techniques to speed up searches. Some of the common techniques are briefly described below.
Preprocessed Data
One way search engines save time is by preprocessing the content of the web. That is, when a user issues a query, it is not sent to millions of web sites. Instead, the matching takes place against preprocessed data stored in one site. The preprocessing is carried out with the aid of a software program called a crawler. The crawler is sent out periodically by the database maintainers to collect web pages. A specialized computer program analyzes the retrieved pages to extract words. These words are then stored along with the links to the corresponding pages in an index file. Users’ queries are matched against this index file, not against other web sites.
Smart Representation
In this technique, the representation for the index is carefully selected with an eye toward minimizing search time. Information scientists have produced an efficient data structure called a tree that can guarantee significantly shorter overall search time compared with searches conducted against a sequential list. To accommodate searches conducted by many users simultaneously and eliminate “wait queues”, the index is usually duplicated on multiple computers in the search site.
Prioritizing Results
The URLs or links produced as a result of searchers are usually numerous. But due to ambiguities of language (for instance, “window blind” versus “blind ambition”), the resulting links would generally not be equally relevant to a user’s query. To provide quicker access to