2021年全国英语竞赛《A类研究生》初赛试题及答案

Read the following passage and fill in each blank with one word. Choose the correct word in one of the following three ways: according to the context, by using the correct form of the given word, or by using the given letter(s) of the word. Remember to write the answers on the answer sheet.
After being abroad for decades, 68 Chinese cultural relics that had been taken to the United Kingdom recently were returned to their homeland thanks to joint efforts of the two countries, the National Cultural Heritage Administration said at a news (46) con_____ on Wednesday.
Some of the relics span millennia, (47)_____ (date) from the Spring and Autumn Period (770—476, BC) to the Qing Dynasty (1644—1911), and they encompass a variety of items, mainly ceramics. They are from a variety of provinces, including Jiangxi, Anhui, Fujian, Henan, Shaanxi, Hebei and Guizhou.
Their return brings an end to a quarter-century of efforts for repatriation, said Guan Qiang, deputy director of the administration.
In February 1995, the Metropolitan Police Service in London informed the Chinese embassy in the UK that an investigation into the sale of stolen property involved a group of cultural relics that were believed to be from China. That was confirmed by the administration in Beijing, (48) _____ said that they were smuggled out of China.
British police (49) sei_____ all the items in an operation that March. Soon, the State Council, China’s Cabinet, set up a special cross-departmental working group to bring them home.
In 1998, over 3,000 relics were returned to China after cooperation by law enforcement units, a lawsuit and negotiations. It was the largest single repatriation of lost cultural relics in the history of New China.
However, a local buyer of dozens of remaining relics refused to take part in negotiations, and the civil dispute dragged on after hitting a deadlock. The 68 relics remained impounded by British police.
“But we never stopped working on the case and stayed in close contact (50)_____ the embassy and the British side to follow up on their latest information,” Guan said.
A break finally appeared. In January, the Metropolitan Police informed the Chinese embassy that the deadline for prosecution in the case had passed, but the whereabouts of the buyer were unknown. The police showed a (51) _____ (will) to return the items to China after seeking legal advice.
The process of getting the artifacts home immediately was restarted. In spite of delays created by the COVID-19 (52) pan_____, Yu Peng, a minister counsellor from the embassy, led a team to check the inventory in July. A quarter century earlier, Yu had been the person responsible for first contacting the British police in the case.
The Metropolitan Police Service handed the artifacts to the Chinese embassy in October. The Chinese ambassador to the UK, also held an online handover ceremony just before the relics’ (53) dep_____. Joining the embassy in presenting the event were officials of the British Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
The relics were transported in tailor-made cases and landed intact in Beijing on Oct 20, but the process had remained (54) con_____ until Wednesday.
“The consistent action showed our determination to solve crimes and bring back lost or stolen cultural relics from overseas,” Guan said.
An expert panel was organized to examine and appraise the relics as soon as they arrived in Beijing, according to Deng Chao, director of the cultural relic repatriation office of the National Cultural Heritage Administration.
“Generally, they are very well preserved and in good shape,” Deng said. “Many of them are of very great value for (55) _____ (history) and scientific studies.”
He said 13 artifacts have been labeled as national precious cultural relics of the second-highest grade, and 30 are categorized as being of the third-highest grade.

There are three passages in this part. Each passage is followed by several questions. Respond to the questions using information from the passage. Remember to write the answers on the answer sheet.
Section A (10 marks)
Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.
　　In 2013, Harris Academy—a school in south London—banned its students from using slang. Posters around the school showed a list of slang words that students weren’t allowed to use, such as ain’t and like. (56) ____
　　The creation of slang is one way languages change. Slang, or informal language, usually changes more rapidly than standard language. For example, the word groovy, meaning “great,” used to be very popular in the 1960s and ’70s. But by 1980, people have stopped using it. Throughout history, changes in language have received much criticism. In 1789, Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States, wrote about his objections to words such as notice and progress being used as verbs.
　　Why do we use slang?
　　(57) ____ When only a particular group of people use and understand certain words and phrases, it strengthens their sense of identity within that group. Each different group—teenagers, the media, and so on—has its own set of slang. Another reason for using slang is to communicate an idea in a more colourful or humorous way. For example, the phrase jump ship creates a stronger image than the more standard leave an organization. In addition, slang often allows us to express complex ideas effectively. The word frenemy (someone who pretends to be a friend, but is really an enemy) conveys its meaning more quickly than standard language.
　　(58) ____ Often, Internet slang words are created to make messages faster and easier to type.
　　Some examples include btw (by the way) and YOLO (you only live once).
　　Is slang degrading our language?
　　Some people feel strongly against the use of slang. Teachers at Harris Academy were worried that slang would prevent their students from learning how to read, write, and express themselves correctly. They thought this might cause problems for students when they eventually went on to apply to universities or to look for jobs. David Lammy, a British politician, supports the school’s decision. (59) ____
　　However, some people think differently. Linguist Tony Thorne sees slang as a way for speakers of a language to show their creativity and humour. He argues that slang is important in social interactions, enabling us to express who we are and the communities we belong to. (60)____ As Thorne explains, “Slang has not become more prevalent, simply more public.” In today’s highly connected world, slang has become more noticeable because of better tools to observe language change.
　　Perhaps the concerns raised by critics can be solved by making people aware of when to use certain forms of language. As long as people use slang in the right situations, there may not be a need to completely discourage it.
Questions 56—60
Choose from the sentences A—G the one which best fits each gap of 56—60. There are two extra sentences that you do not need to use.

Section B (10 marks)
Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.
Gateway to the Rain God
From deep in a well near the ruins of the Mayan city of Chichrn Itzá, archeoastronomer Arturo Montero shouts to his colleague on the surface, “I saw it, I saw it! Yes, it’s true!” Leaning over the mouth of the well, archeologist Guilermo de Anda hopes to hear what he has suspected for many months. “What is true, Arturo?” And Montero yells up again, “The zenith light! It really works! Get down here!”
The two archeologists are anxious to confirm whether this cenote could have acted as a sacred sundial and timekeeper for the ancient Maya. On two days every year—May 23 and July 19—the sun is vertically overhead and there is no shadow. On the morning of their descent, on May 24, Montero and de Anda see that the sun’s rays come very close to vertical. The day before, they realised, a beam of light would have plunged straight down into the water.
Beneath its narrow mouth, the walls of the cenote open up to become a giant dome. It looks like a cathedral, except for the roots of trees that penetrate the rock as they reach for the water. The beam of sunlight dances like fire on the surrounding stalactites, and it turns the water a beautiful transparent blue. The archeologists were probably the first people in centuries to watch the sun move slowly across the cenote’s water.
De Anda began exploring Holtun in 2010. One day, inspecting the walls of the cenote a few metres below the surface, he emerged from the water and felt something above his head. He was astonished to find a natural rock shelf holding an offering of human and animal bones, pottery, and a knife—probably used for sacrifices—all neatly placed there centuries earlier. Below the water, he saw broken columns and Mayan stone carving. The well was clearly a sacred site.
Key to Survival
Three years later, in the cornfield on the surface above the cenote, a crew of Maya farmers is working hard in the intense Yucatán heat to pull the explorers out of the well. The crew’s leader is Luis Un Ken, and optimist with an easy smile who is respected by everyone in his nearby village. “There was a good rain the other day,” he says, wiping the sweat off his face. “The Chaak moved.”
For men like Un Ken, the old gods are still very much alive, and Chaak—ruler of cenotes and caves—is among the most important. For the benefit of living things, he pours from the skies the water he keeps in jars. Thunder is the sound of Chaak breaking a jar open and letting the rain fall. The Chaak had moved, Un Ken said, and that meant the planting season would soon arrive.
Chaak’s absence can cause disasters for the Yucatán Maya, possibly the demise of the ancient Maya civilization itself. Their land is an endless limestone shelf. Rain sinks through the porous limestone down to groundwater levels, and consequently no river or stream runs through the land. From the air, one sees a green sea of dense jungle. At ground level, however, the tropical forest appears very thin. Wherever there is enough soil, the Maya plant corn or milpa, a combination of the corn, beans, and squash that constitutes their basic source of protein. But corn is a hungry crop; it sucks lots of nutrients from the soil. For thousands of years, milpa farmers have kept their small fields productive by burning a different area of trees every year and planting in the corn-friendly ashes. We call this deforestation, but to the Maya, it means survival.
As for water for the fields ... well, that’s where Chaak comes in. Only seasonal rains can make the corn grow, and they must arrive in an exact pattern: no rain in winter so that the fields and forest will be dry enough to burn by March; some rain in early May to soften up the soil for planting; then very gentle rain to allow the planted seeds to begin to grow; and finally, plenty of rain so the corn can flourish. Any break in the pattern means less food for a family. It’s easy to understand how important Chaak was—and is—to the Maya.
Questions 61 to 65
Answer the following questions with the information given in the passage.

Section C (10 marks)
Questions 66 to 70 are based on the following passage.
　　Last September, a partnership between the United Nations and the search engine Google was announced. As part of the United Nations Environment Programme, it was agreed that Google would enable its mapping programme, Google Earth, to track 100 environmental hotspots around the world to reveal the extent of various environmental problems including deforestation, urbanization and retreating glaciers. If you view the map, you can click on a particular hotspot and see two images for comparison—one taken in the past and a recent image. There is also detailed information about each hotspot and its problems. Google reaches millions of people and thus increases public awareness of these serious problems.
　　Forests are not just a collection of trees. They are in fact entire ecosystems, shelters and important storehouses for nature and man. They also house a remarkable variety of plant and animal life, and micro-organisms. Over 60 percent of all known species live in forests. They also store water and soil, and absorb carbon which helps to ease global warming as trees convert carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to oxygen. Human beings have found many uses for forests especially as a source of wood. It is easy to appreciate how important forests are.
　　As shown on the Google site, all over the world forests are under threat. These threats are from commercial exploitation such as for pasture, planting crops and commercial logging. Those exploiting these areas often use fire to clear the land for such purposes. This process of destroying these areas is known as deforestation. Some scientists estimate that since the beginning of the 20th century, over 50 percent of the world’s original rainforest cover has been lost due to deforestation.
　　Why does deforestation happen? The main reason is money. Many poorer nations such as Brazil are forced to use their forest resources as a way to get income. Many of these deforested areas are used to produce soy beans, an export worth $10 billion a year. There are other similar cases, which can be found all over the world such as in Madagascar, Thailand and Ghana.
　　Deforestation has many negative impacts. It not only destroys trees, which contributes to global warming, it also destroys the abundant plant and wildlife in the forests. Another impact is erosion. As trees disappear, the protection for the soil is lost, and the whole area can become eroded or even lost to desert. Even if forests can recover, they do not do so quickly. It takes a long time for the environment to recover—for new trees to grow and for new species to return.
　　There are a number of solutions which have been tried. One is the introduction of new high-yield hybrid farming methods, which help farmers produce more from a smaller area of land. Another is reforestation. China has been particularly active in this area. March 12th is national planting day in China, and the government claims to have planted over two billion new trees since 1982.
　　Many other organizations dedicate themselves to solving this problem. For example, Greenpeace is very active in this area. Also the WWFN (the World Wide Fund for Nature) has been campaigning to have governments outlaw trade in threatened and rare species since 1975. In addition, forest certification and sensible forest management can go a long way to help reduce deforestation. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) programme has been very successful and now boasts over 68 million hectares under its protection. Even individuals can help in the fight. The Rainforest Site offers a way to help for free. Clicking on one of its pages generates a donation from a sponsor to preserving forests.
　　Forests help sustain so much life and ensure the survival of the planet. Despite a slowing down of deforestation in the last few years, it still remains a major environmental problem which will take a great deal of time and effort to solve.
Questions 66 to 70
Complete the summary below with information from the passage, using one or two words for each blank.

Proofread the passage as required. Each indicated line contains a maximum of one error. Correct the passage in the following ways: for a right line, put the sign “√” in the corresponding blank; for a wrong word, underline the wrong word and write the correct one in the blank; for a missing word, mark the position of the missing word with the sign “∧” and write the word you believe to be missing in the blank; for an unnecessary word, cross the unnecessary word with the sign “\” and put the word with the sign in the blank. Write the answers on the answer sheet.