2018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 answersheet.　　To a chorus of angry shouts and insults, a (46) _____ (wealth) Chicago couple have been charged with child cruelty after leaving their daughters, aged four and nine, alone at home while they spent Christmas on the Acapulco, Mexico.
　　Acapulco, is a city, municipality and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, 380 kilometres south of Mexico city.Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico history.It is a port of call for shipping and cruise lines (47) _____ (run) between Panama and San Francisco, California, the United States.Acapulco is in the state, far larger than the state capital Chilpancingo.Acapulco is also Mexico’s largest beach and resort city.
　　The city is one of Mexico’s oldest beach resorts, (48) _____ came into prominence in the 1940s through 1960s as a getaway for Hollywood stars and millionaires.Acapulco is still famous and still attracts many tourists, although most are now from Mexico itself.
　　The couple enjoyed themselves in the city during Christmas.David Schoo, aged forty-five, and his wife Sharon, aged thirty-five, were handcuffed by waiting police, surrounded by reporters and insulted by onlookers after their return (49) fl_____ from Mexico landed at Chicago’s O’Hare airport.The couple were immediately taken to jail, where they’ll stay until their trial.
　　Police said the daughters, Diana, aged four, and Nicole, aged nine, had been left on their own in the Schoos’ suburban Chicago home on 20 December when their parents set off for their ten-day (50) ho_____.Before they left, the couple had pinned up a note in the kitchen telling the girls exactly what to wear on snowy days.It also included a strict (51) _____ (remind) to Diane and Nicole about the time they should go to bed.They even remembered to tell them when and where to leave the Christmas cookies for Santa Claus.
　　There is clear evidence to show that the Schoos were quite determined to have an uninterrupted, trouble-free holiday, even if this meant neglecting their children.“Who could ever think that as parents they would go away to enjoy themselves for ten days?” The elder daughter Nicole told a local television station, “For a long time I felt really bad, wondering what they were doing and where they were, and how I’d get (52) _____ touch with them if I needed to.”　　“How could anybody ever do this to their kids especially at Christmas time?” asked Connie Stadelmann, a neighbour.As soon as the Schoos’ plane landed, police boarded it and arrested them before they had unfastened their seat-belts.
　　Ms Stadelmann discovered the girls’ plight on 21 December after the children accidentally set off a home fire alarm.Although they had left a fully-stocked refrigerator, they had not given their children an emergency telephone (53) con_____ in Acapulco.“I asked them where their mom and dad were.They said Mexico”.
　　The girls were looked after by another family, while, unable to trace their parents, Chicago police were forced to monitor passenger lists on all flights from Mexico.She said the girls had run screaming and barefoot (54) th_____ the snow to her house.
　　The sun-tanned couple were led through a crowd of reporters, but declined to comment.According to one of the arresting (55) _____ (office), they didn’t even ask how their children were.The Schoos have been charged with child abandonment as well as cruelty.

There are four 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 answersheet.
Section A (5 marks)
Questions 56—60 are based on the following passage.　　Watercress is rapidly growing, aquatic or semi-aquatic, perennial plant native to Europe and Asia, and one of the oldest known leaf vegetables consumed by humans.It is a member of the family Brassicaceae, botanically related to garden cress, mustard, radish and wasabi—all noteworthy for their piquant flavor.
　　The hollow stems of watercress will float; the leaf structure is pinnately compound.Small, white and green flowers are produced in clusters and are frequently visited by insects, especially hoverflies such as Eristalis flies.
　　In some regions, watercress is regarded as a weed, in other regions as an aquatic vegetable or herb.Watercress has been grown in many locations around the world.Crisp, green and peppery, watercress is positively packed with healthy vitamins and minerals.It has a long history: the Greek god Zeus was reputed to think that watercress helped in building health and strength, while “the father of medicine”, was so convinced that watercress was a great healer that he built his first hospital next to a stream so that he could grow a plentiful supply of the glossy green leaves for his patients.The Romans chewed watercress in large quantities, believing that it would cure baldness.Modern-day celebrities recommend a watercress-soup diet as a great way to lose weight healthily.
　　Watercress sandwiches were traditionally a breakfast item in nineteenth-century Europe.The most basic type of watercress sandwich has two pieces of white bread with a mixture of butter and watercress greens.A nickname for the vegetable, in fact, was “poor man’s bread”, because watercress was often eaten on its own for breakfast by families that could not afford the bread to go with it.
　　Watercress is a member of the mustard family and, as its name suggests, it’s grown in water—in warm, shallow streams of flowing spring water.It consists of vitamins C, K and A, and also a valuable source of minerals such as iron, potassium, copper and calcium.Like broccoli and spinach, it has special properties which help prevent cancer.The mustard oils in its glossy leaves and stems contain a chemical compound known as PEITC.Recent research has proved that this compound can inhibit the growth of cancer cells and, in some cases, actually destroy them.
　　The best watercress has silky green leaves without any marks and crisp, undamaged stems.The older the plant the darker are its leaves and the thicker its stems.This means a higher concentration of oils and vitamins.Young watercress, on the other hand, may after only 28 days growth and has a milder flavour.It’s best to eat watercress fresh and raw, to preserve more of its valuable nutrients, but it can be lightly cooked and used as an alternative to spinach—another dark green vegetable—in various recipes.From soups to salads to stir-fries, watercress is now acclaimed around the world as a natural and healthy super food.Watercress can be sold in supermarket in sealed plastic bags, containing a little moisture and lightly pressurized to prevent crushing of contents.This has allowed national availability with a once-purchased storage life of one to two days in chilled refrigerated storage.
Questions 56 to 60
Fill in the blanks below with information from the passage, using no more than four words for each blank.
Examples of the use of watercress through the ages:
●Zeus thought watercress was good for health and strength.
●Hippocrates grew watercress by his hospital to heal patients.
●Romans ate watercress as (56) _____.
●Watercress sandwiches were eaten for breakfast in 19th-century Europe.
●Celebrities use watercress-soup diet to (57) _____.
Health-giving properties of watercress:
●Contains vitamins (58) _____.
●Contains iron, potassium, copper and calcium.
●Contains cancer-preventing PEITC
More about watercress:
●the best: silky green unmarked leaves, (59) _____ stems
●older watercress: darker leaves and thicker stems
●young watercress: grown for (60) _____ /mild flavor
●eat it raw or cooked

Section B (10 marks)
Read the following passage.Choose from the sentences A—G the one which best fits each gap of 61—65.There aretwo extra sentences which you do not need to use.　　Shanxi province nurtures an ancient civilization in the mid-section of the Yellow River, with picturesque natural scenery and cultural relics that showcase its important role in Chinese history.
　　China’s second largest waterfall, the Hukou, is located on the border of Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces, about 45 kilometers from Jixian county, Linfen city.
　　Hukou, which literally means the spout of a teapot, vividly describes the magnificent scene when the 400-meter- wide Yellow River is blocked by mountains and suddenly pours through a deep groove of 30 to 50 meters’ width.
　　(61) _____
　　Beyond the scenery, the Yellow River is the cradle of ancient Chinese civilization.Located in the northeast of Xiangfen county, Linfen city, the Taosi ruins span an area of about 2.8 million square meters and a history of 4,100 to 4,300 years.
　　(62) _____
　　They believe that Taosi was the capital of the sage emperor Yao, who lived in the middle reaches of the Yellow River at that time.It is recorded Yao built his capital at Pingyang, the ancient name for Linfen, but there was no archaeological proof before.
　　The new studies indicate the existence of a civilized and hierarchical society, with fortifications such as walls and moats, funerary objects of wood furniture and kitchenware, and function areas including a royal palace, living area for nobles and mausoleums.
　　In 1984, the earliest Chinese characters were found on a pottery in the ruins.Experts identified one character as wen (literary), and argued the others looked like yao (the emperor Yao), yi (change) and ming (life).
　　(63) _____
　　In the Tang Dynasty (AD 618—907), Emperor Li Longji ordered the fabrication of eight iron oxen and eight iron men on the banks of the Yellow River, which were used to rivet the pontoon bridge of an ancient ferry, now long gone.The figures were later buried by silt as the river shifted; they were rediscovered in 1988 in Yongji city, Shanxi province.
　　Each ox is about 1.9 meters tall, 3 meters long and 1.3 meters wide, and weighs 40 tons.Under each tail is a horizontal shaft to fix the bridge.
　　(64) _____ The oxen look muscular and majestic, stretching their chests and hind legs.It took seven years to remove rust from the sculptures and build a platform 12.2 meters above the original site for visitors.The remaining four pairs of man and beast are located about 360 meters away and remain underground.
　　Those who want to worship at temples can visit Yongji city’s Pujiu Temple, the place where the love story of the drama Romance of the West Chamber took place in the Tang Dynasty.
　　Yuncheng city, only one hour’s drive from Yongji city, is home to the largest Guandi Temple in China.It’s dedicated to Guan Yu, a famous general during the Three Kingdoms Period (AD 220-280), who was born in Yuncheng.
　　(65) _____ Iron figures of men with lions on the temple grounds indicate that foreign envoys presented lions as gifts to the Chinese nation.
　　If you go, Linfen city is more than 260 kilometers from Taiyuan, the capital city of Shanxi province.Yongji city is about 200 km from Linfen city and 60 km from Yuncheng city.It’s convenient to take trains or drive to these cities.
Question 61—65
Choose from the sentences A—G the one which best fits each gap of 61—65.There are two extra sentences which you do not need to use.

Section C (10 marks)
Questions 66 to 70 are based on the following passage.　　It’s 4.45 a.m. in Samasati village in north-western Zambia and the Chimwanga family, champion beekeepers, are already on their way to extract honey from one of their many hives. For as long as anyone can remember, this area has been famous for beekeeping, but it is only in the last ten years that the business has begun to make a difference to the lives of the producers, since they began to trade through an organization guaranteeing them a fair price for their crop.
　　Samasati is a beautiful place, where nature provides and pollution is non-existent. Here, 60 miles from the nearest telephone or source of electricity, the 300 inhabitants support themselves from the forest and rivers. Life is hard, however, and the only income available to the villagers is from selling their honey. The Chimwangas own a small house and a couple of bicycles and are the villager’s biggest honey producers. When his children are old enough, Mr Chimwanga should be able to send them to school and will be able to pay for medical care if any of his family becomes ill. The Chimwangas are proud that the head of their family is the best beekeeper in the village.
　　It’s a half-hour walk from the Chimwanga house to the hive site. The hives themselves are made out of cylindrical sections of tree bark, which are hung high up in the trees to attract swarms of bees. (The tree eventually regrow its barks, so there is a never-ending supply for new hives.) Bee hives in Zambia have been made in this way for thousands of years. On reaching the site, the Chimwangas tear off low, leaf-covered branches from nearby trees. They place these in a pile on the ground as a bundle and insert some dry reed stalks in the middle. A match then sets the reeds alight and thick smoke is produced as the fire spreads from the dry reeds to the green leaves.
　　Mr Chimwanga climbs nimbly up the trunk and moves carefully along a branch towards the hanging hive. He carries the smoking bundle on a length of string tired around his waist. When he reaches the hive, he waves smoke into the entrance to calm the bees and then thrusts his arm inside. The bees circle his head and hum relentlessly. Unafraid, he pulls up a bucket and fills it with the precious honeycomb, dropping some pieces down to his family to eat as he does so. It’s the most delicious honey, fragrant but not too sweet—the result of the hundreds of orchids and other wild flowers the bees have feasted on in the forest.
　　This honey is sold straight to the exporting company, North West Bee Products, through their buyer, Bob Malichi. He is the vital middleman for the beekeepers and arrives in the village amid claps and warm handshakes, weighs the honey and pays for the product directly.
　　Bob himself comes from generations of beekeepers and is passionate about Zambian honey—indeed, he believes it’s Zambian’s future. “Honey will always be there,” he says, “If you look after the bees, they will produce for you. Our honey is organically produced. There’s no pollution, and nothing is added—it comes straight from the forest.” The honey is transported to Dares Salaam, in neighboring Tanzania, for export. Within a month of a Zambian beekeeper climbing to his hive, his honey can be spread on the bread anywhere in the world.
Questions 66 to 70
Answer the following questions with the information given in the passage.

Section D (10 marks)
Questions 71 to 75 are based on the following passage.　　A new study conducted has demonstrated that public transport is more efficient than cars. The study compared the proportion of wealth poured into transport by 37 cities around the world. This included both the public and private costs of building, maintaining and using a transport system.
　　The study found that the Western Australian city of Perth is a good example of a city with minimal public transport. As a result, 17% of its wealth went into transport costs. Some European and Asian cities, on the other hand, spend as little as 5%. These cities were able to put the difference into attracting industry and jobs or creating a better place to live.
　　According to the study, the larger Australian city of Melbourne is a rather unusual city in this sort of comparison. Melbourne’s large tram network has made car use in the inner city much lower, but the outer suburbs have the same car-based structure as most other Australian cities, the explosion in demand for accommodation in the inner suburbs of Melbourne suggest a recent change in many people’s preferences as to where they live.
　　This is a new, broader way of considering public transport issues. In the past, the case for public transport has been made on the basis of environmental and social justice considerations rather than economics. The study demonstrates that “the auto-dependent city model is inefficient and grossly inadequate in economic as well as environmental terms”.
　　Bicycle use wasn’t included in the study but it was noted that the two most “bicycle friendly” cities (Amsterdam and Copenhagen) were very efficient, even though their public transport reasonable but not special”.　　It is common for supporters of road networks to reject the models of cities with good public transport by arguing that such systems would not work in their particular city. One objection is climate. Some people say their city could not make more use of public transport because it is either too hot or too cold. In fact, the main reason for adopting one sort of transport over another is politics. The more democratic the process, the more public transport is favored.
　　In the UK, travel times to work had been stable for at least six centuries, with people avoiding situations that required them to spend more than half an hour travelling to work. Trains and cars initially allowed people to live at greater distances without taking longer to reach their destination. However, public infrastructure didn’t keep pace with urban sprawl, causing massive congestion problems which now make commuting time far higher.
　　There’s a widespread belief that increasing wealth encourages people to live farther out where cars are the only viable transport. The example of European cities refutes that. They’re often wealthier than their American counterparts but haven’t generated the same level of car use. The study also shows that developing Asian cities make more use of the car than wealthy Asian cities. In the cities that developed later, cars create the massive traffic jams.
　　The explanation for the constant rise of the population and job density has shown that it’s valuable to place people working in related fields together. This new world depends on human creativity, and creativity flourishes where people come together face-to-face even online.
Questions 71 to 75
Complete the summary below with information from the passage, using no more than three words for each blank.
　　A new study shows that public transport is more efficient than cars. According to the study, Melbourne’s model is a new (71) _____ method of considering public transport issues. Now the basic concern of public transport is economics instead of social fairness and (72) _____ consideration. Supporters of car users don’t accept the models of cities with good public transport, and one of their objections is their local (73) _____. In the UK, the initial use of cars and trains was to allow people to arrive at their destination with (74) _____. Contrary to the common belief, in Europe, the increase of wealth hadn’t generated the same (75) _____ as that in the United States, but in the newly-developed cities, cars create the massive traffic congestion.

Proofread the passage as required.Each indicated line contains amaximumofone 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 answersheet.