考研英语历年真题及答案一90-96.doc

考研英语历年真题及答案

1990年全国硕士研究生入学考试英语试题

Section I Structure and Vocabulary
In each question, decide which of the four choices given will most suitably complete the sentence if inserted at the place marked. Put your choice in the ANSWER SHEET. (15 points)
EXAMPLE:
I was caught ________ the rain yesterday.
[A] in
[B] by
[C] with
[D] at
ANSWER: [A]
1. Those two families have been quarrelling ________ each other for many years.
[A] to
[B] between
[C] against
[D] with
2. There are many things whose misuse is dangerous, bur it is hard to think of anything that can be compared ________ tobacco products.
[A] in
[B] with
[C] among
[D] by
3. “How often have you seen cases like this?” one surgeon asked another. “Oh, ________ times, I guess,” was the reply.
[A] hundred of
[B] hundreds
[C] hundreds of
[D] hundred
4. Give me your telephone number ________ I need your help.
[A] whether
[B] unless
[C] so that
[D] in case
5. You sang well last night. We hope you’ll sing ________.
[A] more better
[B] still better
[C] nicely
[D] best
6. Those people ________ a general understanding of the present situation.
[A] lack of
[B] are lacking of
[C] lack
[D] are in lack
7. Alone in a deserted house, he was so busy with his research work that he felt ________ lonely.
[A] nothing but
[B] anything but
[C] all but
[D] everything but
8. Grace ________ tears when she heard the sad news.
[A] broke in
[B] broke into
[C] broke off
[D] broke through
9. She refused to ________ the car keys to her husband until he had promised to wear his safety belt.
[A] hand in
[B] hand out
[C] hand down
[D] hand over
10. Michael found it difficult to get his British jokes ________ to American audiences.
[A] around
[B] over
[C] across
[D] down
11. The book contained a large ________ of information.
[A] deal
[B] amount
[C] number
[D] sum
12. Nowadays advertising costs are no longer in reasonable ________ to the total cost of the product.
[A] proportion
[B] correlation
[C] connection
[D] correspondence
13. When she saw the clouds she went back to the house to ________ her umbrella.
[A] carry
[B] fetch
[C] bring
[D] reach
14. We must ________ that the experiment is controlled as rigidly as possible.
[A] assure
[B] secure
[C] ensure
[D] issue
15. He was knocked down by a car and badly ________.
[A] injured
[B] damaged
[C] harmed
[D] ruined
Section II Reading Comprehension
Each of the three passages below is followed by some questions. For each question there are four answers. Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each of the questions. Put your choice in the ANSWER SHEET. (20 points)
Text 1
In May 1989, space shuttle “Atlantis” released in outer space the space probe “Megallan,” which is now on her 15-month and one-billion-kilometer flight to Venus. A new phase in space exploration has begun.
The planet Venus is only slightly smaller than Earth; it is the only other object in the solar system, in fact, that even comes close to earth’s size. Venus has a similar density, so it is probably made of approximately the same stuff, and it has an atmosphere, complete with clouds. It is also the closest planet to earth, and thus the most similar in distance from the sun. In short, Venus seems to justify its long-held nickname of “earth’s twin.”
The surface temperature of Venus reaches some 900F. Added to that is an atmospheric pressure about 90 times Earth’s: High overhead in the carbon dioxide (CO2) that passes for air is a layer of clouds, perhaps 10 to 20 miles thick, whose little drops consist mostly of sulfuric acid (H2SO4). Water is all but nonexistent.
Born with so many fundamental similarities to earth, how did Venus get to be so radically different: It is not just an academic matter. For all its extremes, Venus is a valuable laboratory for researchers studying the weather and climate of earth. It has no earth’s oceans, so the heat transport and other mechanisms are greatly simplified. In addition, the planet Venus takes 243 earth-days to turn once on its axis, so incoming heat from the sun is added and distributed at a more leisurely, observable pace.
16. Venus is similar to Earth in ________.
[A] size and density
[B] distance from the sun
[C] having atmosphere
[D] all of the above
17. The greatest value in studying Venus should be to ________.
[A] allow us to visit there
[B] understand Earth better
[C] find a new source of energy
[D] promote a new space program
18. The main idea of this passage is about ________.
[A] problems of space travel
[B] scientific methods in space exploration
[C] the importance of Venus to Earth
[D] conditions on Venus
Text 2
Tourists were surprised to see a woman driving a huge orange tractor down one of Rome’s main avenues. Italy’s political leaders and some of its male union chiefs are said to have been even more puzzled to see that the tractor was followed by about 200,000 women in a parading procession that took more than three hours to snake through central Rome.
Shouting slogans, waving flags and dancing to drumbeats, the women had come to the capital from all over Italy to demonstrate for “a job for each of us, a different type of job, and a society without violence.” So far, action to improve women’s opportunities in employment has been the province of collective industrial bargaining. “But there is a growing awareness that this is not enough,” says a researcher on female labor at the government-funded Institute for the Development of Professional Training for Workers.
Women, who constitute 52 per cent of Italy’s population, today represent only 35 per cent of Italy’s total workforce and 33 per cent of the total number of Italians with jobs. However, their presence in the workplace is growing. The employment of women is expanding considerably in services, next to the public administration and commerce as their principal workplace. Official statistics also show that women have also made significant strides in self-employment. More and more women are going into business for themselves. Many young women are turning to business because of the growing overall in employment. It is also a fact that today many prejudices have disappeared, so that banks and other financial institutes make judgments on purely business considerations without caring if it is a man or a woman.
Such changes are occurring in the professions too. The number of women doctors, dentists, lawyers, engineers and university professors increased two to three fold. Some of the changes are immediately visible. For example, women have appeared on the scene for the first time as state police, railway workers and street cleaners.
However, the present situation is far from satisfactory though some progress has been made. A breakthrough in equal opportunities for women is now demanded.
19. The expression “snake through central Rome” probably means “to move ________
[A] quietly through central Rome.”
[B] violently through central Rome.”
[C] in a long winding line through central Rome.”
[D] at a leisurely pace through central Rome.”
20. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
[A] There are more women than men in Italy.
[B] In Italy, women are chiefly employed in services.
[C] In Italy, women are still at a disadvantage in employment.
[D] In Italy, about two-thirds of the jobs are held by men.
21. About 200,000 women in Rome demonstrated for ________.
[A] more job opportunities
[B] a greater variety of jobs
[C] “equal job, equal pay”
[D] both A and B
22. The best title for this passage would be ________.
[A] The Role of Women is Society
[B] Women Demonstrate for Equality in Employment
[C] Women as Self-employed Professionals
[D] Women and the Jobs Market
Text 3
The old idea that talented children “burn themselves out” in the early years, and, therefore, are subjected to failure and at worst, mental illness is unfounded. As a matter of fact, the outstanding thing that happens to bright kids is that they are very likely to grow into bright adults.
To find this out, l, 500 gifted persons were followed up to their thirty-fifth year with these results:
On adult intelligence tests, they scored as high as they had as children. They were, as a group, in good health, physically and mentally. 84 per cent of their group were married and seemed content with their lives.
About 70 per cent had graduated from college, though only 30 per cent had graduated with honors. A few had even dropped out, but nearly half of these had returned to graduate. Of the men, 80 per cent were in one of the professions or in business management or semiprofessional jobs. The women who had remained single had office, business, or professional occupations.
The group had published 90 books and 1,500 articles in scientific, scholarly, and literary magazines and had collected more than 100 patents.
In a material way they did not do badly either. Average income was considerably higher among the gifted people, especially the men, than for the country as a whole, despite their comparative youth.
In fact, far from being strange, most of the gifted were turning their early promise into practical reality.
23. The old idea that talented children “burn themselves out” in the early years is ________.
[A] true in all senses
[B] refuted by the author
[C] medically proven
[D] a belief of the author
24. The survey of bright children was made to ________.
[A] find out what had happened to talented children when they became adults
[B] prove that talented children “burn themselves out” in the early years
[C] discover the percentage of those mentally ill among the gifted
[D] prove that talented children never burn themselves out
25. Intelligence tests showed that ________.
[A] bright children were unlikely to be mentally healthy
[B] between childhood and adulthood there was a considerable loss of intelligence
[C] talented children were most likely to become gifted adults
[D] when talented children grew into adults, they made low scores
Section III Close Test
For each numbered blank in the following passage there are four choices labeled [A], [B], [C], and [D], choose the best one and put your choice in the ANSWER SHEET. Read the whole passage before making your choice. (10 points)
No one knows for sure what the world would be like in the year 2001. Many books have been written __26__ the future. But the 19th-century French novelist Jules Verne may be called a futurologist in the fullest __27__ of the word. In his fantastic novels “A Trip to the Moon” and “80 Days Around the World,” he described with detail the aeroplane and even the helicopter. These novels still have a great attraction __28__ young readers of today because of their bold imagination and scientific accuracy.
Below is a description of what our life will be in the year 2001 as predicted by a __29__ writer.
In 2001, in the home, cookers will be set so that you can cook a complete meal at the touch of a switch.
Television will provide information on prices at the __30__ shops as well as news and entertainment. Videophones will bring pictures as well as __31__ to telephone conversations.
Machines will control temperature, lighting, entertainment, security alarms, laundry and gardening.
Lighting will provide decoration as well as wallpaper.
At work, robots will take __32__ most jobs in the manufacturing industries. Working hours will fall to under 30 hours a week. Holidays will get longer; six weeks will be the normal annual holiday. Men and women will retire at the same age.
Our leisure will be different too. The home will become the center of entertainment through television and electronic games. More people will eat out in restaurants __33__ they do today; also they will have a much wider variety of food available. There will be a change of taste towards a more savoury-flavored menu. New synthetic foods will form a __34__ part of people’s diets.
Foreign travel will __35__; winter holidays will become more popular than summer ones.
Also non-stop flights from Britain to Australia and New Zealand will be easily available and much cheaper. Education will become increasingly more important than ever before.
26. [A] in
[B] of
[C] about
[D] for
27. [A] sense
[B] meaning
[C] detail
[D] implication
28. [A] for
[B] of
[C] on
[D] towards
29. [A] today
[B] nowadays
[C] present-day
[D] present
30. [A] near
[B] nearby
[C] nearly
[D] nearer
31. [A] noise
[B] sound
[C] tone
[D] tune
32. [A] to
[B] away
[C] off
[D] over
33. [A] than
[B] as
[C] when
[D] while
34. [A] usual
[B] popular
[C] daily
[D] regular
35. [A] add
[B] increase
[C] raise
[D] arise
Section IV Error-detection and Correction
Each of the following sentences has four underlined parts. These parts are labeled [A], [B], [C], and [D]. Identify the part of sentence that is incorrect and put your choice in the ANSWER SHEET. Then, without altering the meaning of the sentence, write down your correction on the line in the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)
EXAMPLE:
You have to hurry up if you want to buy something becauseA there’sB hardly somethingC leftD.
ANSWER: [C] anything
36. Alice was havingA trouble to controlB the children because there wereC so manyD of them.
37. We were very much surprisedA that theB village was suchC long way fromD the road.
38. John’s chance of being electedA chairmanB of the committee is farC greater than DickD.
39. “We have wonA aB great victory onC our enemyD,” the captain said.
40. There are many valuable servicesA which the public are willing to pay forB, but which does not bringC a return in moneyD to the community.
41. The law I am referringA requires that everyoneB who ownsC a car haveD accident insurance.
42. “I considered itA a honorB to be invited to addressC the meeting of world-famousD scientists,” said Professor Leacock.
43. He was seeingA somebody creepingB into the house throughC the openD window last night.
44. The reason forA all theB changes being madeC has not explainedD to us yet.
45. Even thoughA the children pretended asleepB, the nurses were not deceivedC whenD they came into the room.
Section V Verb Forms
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate forms of the verbs given in the brackets. Put your answers in the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)
EXAMPLE:
It is highly desirable that a new president ________ (appointed) for this college.
ANSWER: (should) be appointed
46. Buying clothes ________ (be) very time-consuming as you rarely find things that fit you nicely.
47. They keep telling us it is of utmost importance that our representative ________ (send) to the conference on schedule.
48. I must call your attention to the directions. Read them carefully and act as ________ (instruct).
49. Emma said in her letter that she would appreciate ________ (hear) from you soon.
50. I ________ (call) to make an airline reservation, but I didn’t.
51. If Greg ha