2017年全国硕士研究生入学统考英语真题及答案(下)
Text 4
In a rare unanimous ruling, the US Supreme Court has overturned the corruption conviction of a former Virginia governor, Robert McDonnell. But it did so while holding its nose at the ethics of his conduct, which included accepting gifts such as a Rolex watch and a Ferrari automobile from a company seeking access to government.
The high court's decision said the judge in Mr. McDonnell's trial failed to tell a jury that it must look only at his "official acts," or the former governor's decisions on "specific" and "unsettled" issues related to his duties.
Merely helping a gift-giver gain access to other officials, unless done with clear intent to pressure those officials, is not corruption, the justices found.
The court did suggest that accepting favors in return for opening doors is "distasteful" and "nasty." But under anti-bribery laws, proof must be made of concrete benefits, such as approval of a contract or regulation. Simply arranging a meeting, making a phone call, or hosting an event is not an "official act".
The court's ruling is legally sound in defining a kind of favoritism that is not criminal. Elected leaders must be allowed to help supporters deal with bureaucratic problems without fear of prosecution for bribery." The basic compact underlying representative government," wrote Chief Justice John Roberts for the court," assumes that public officials will hear from their constituents and act on their concerns."
But the ruling reinforces the need for citizens and their elected representatives, not the courts, to ensure equality of access to government. Officials must not be allowed to play favorites in providing information or in arranging meetings simply because an individual or group provides a campaign donation or a personal gift. This type of integrity requires well-enforced laws in government transparency, such as records of official meetings, rules on lobbying, and information about each elected leader's source of wealth.
Favoritism in official access can fan public perceptions of corruption. But it is not always corruption. Rather officials must avoid double standards, or different types of access for average people and the wealthy. If connections can be bought, a basic premise of democratic society-that all are equal in treatment by government-is undermined. Good governance rests on an understanding of the inherent worth of each individual.
The court's ruling is a step forward in the struggle against both corruption and official favoritism.
36. The undermined sentence (Para.1) most probably shows that the court
[A] avoided defining the extent of McDonnell's duties.
[B] made no compromise in convicting McDonnell.
[C] was contemptuous of McDonnell's conduct.
[D] refused to comment on McDonnell's ethics.
【答案】[C] was contemptuous of McDonnell's conduct.
37. According to Paragraph 4, an official act is deemed corruptive only if it involves
[A] leaking secrets intentionally.
[B] sizable gains in the form of gifts.
[C] concrete returns for gift-givers.
[D] breaking contracts officially.
【答案】[C] concrete returns for gift-givers.
38. The court's ruling is based on the assumption that public officials are
[A] justified in addressing the needs of their constituents.
[B] qualified to deal independently with bureaucratic issues.
[C] allowed to focus on the concerns of their supporters.
[D] exempt from conviction on the charge of favoritism.
【答案】[A] justified in addressing the needs of their constituents.
39. Well-enforced laws in government transparency are needed to
[A] awaken the conscience of officials.
[B] guarantee fair play in official access.
[C] allow for certain kinds of lobbying.
[D] inspire hopes in average people.
【答案】[B] guarantee fair play in official access.
40. The author's attitude toward the court's ruling is
[A] sarcastic.
[B] tolerant.
[C] skeptical.
[D] supportive
【答案】[D] supportive
Part B
Directions:
The following paragraphs are given in a wrong order. For Questions 41-45, you are required to reorganize these paragraphs into a coherent article by choosing from the list A-G to filling them into the numbered box. Paragraphs B and D have been correctly placed. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)
[A]The first published sketch, "A Dinner at Poplar Walk" brought tears to Dickens's eyes when he discovered it in the pages of The Monthly Magazine. From then on his sketches ,which appeared under the pen name "Boz" in The Evening Chronicle, earned him a modest reputation.
[B]The runaway success of The Pickwick Papers, as it is generally known today, secured Dickens's fame. There were Pickwick coats and Pickwick cigars, and the plump, spectacled hero, Samuel Pickwick, became a national figure.
[C]Soon after Sketches by Boz appeared, a publishing firm approached Dickens to write a story in monthly installments, as a backdrop for a series of woodcuts by the ten-famous artist Robert Seymour, who had originated the idea for the story. With characteristic confidence, Dickens successfully insisted that Seymour's pictures illustrate his own story instead. After the first installment, Dickens wrote to the artist and asked him to correct a drawing Dickens felt was not faithful enough to his prose. Seymour made the change, went into his backyard, and expressed his displeasure by committing suicide. Dickens and his publishers simply pressed on with a new artist. The comic novel, The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, appeared serially in 1836 and 1837, and was first published in book form in 1837.
[D]Charles Dickens is probably the best-known and, to many people, the greatest English novelist of the 19th century. A moralist, satirist, and social reformer. Dickens crafted complex plots and striking characters that capture the panorama of English society.
[E]Soon after his father's release from prison, Dickens got a better job as errand boy in law offices. He taught himself shorthand to get an even better job later as a court stenographer and as a reporter in Parliament. At the same time, Dickens, who had a reporter's eye for transcribing the life around him especially anything comic or odd, submitted short sketches to obscure magazines.
[F] Dickens was born in Portsmouth, on England's southern coast. His father was a clerk in the British navy pay office -a respectable position, but wish little social status. His paternal grandparents, a steward and a housekeeper possessed even less status, having been servants, and Dickens later concealed their background. Dicken's mother supposedly came from a more respectable family. Yet two years before Dicken's birth, his mother's father was caught stealing and fled to Europe, never to return. The family's increasing poverty forced Dickens out of school at age 12 to work in Warren's Blacking Warehouse, a shoe-polish factory, where the other working boys mocked him as "the young gentleman." His father was then imprisoned for debt. The humiliations of his father's imprisonment and his labor in the blacking factory formed Dicken's greatest wound and became his deepest secret. He could not confide them even to his wife, although they provide the unacknowledged foundation of his fiction.
[G] After Pickwick, Dickens plunged into a bleaker world. In Oliver Twist, e traces an orphan's progress from the workhouse to the criminal slums of London. Nicholas Nickleby, his next novel, combines the darkness of Oliver Twist with the sunlight of Pickwick. The popularity of these novels consolidated Dichens' as a nationally and internationally celebrated man of letters.
D → 41. → 42. → 43. → 44. → B →45.
【答案】
41. [F] Dickens was born in Portsmouth
42. [E] Soon after his father's release from prison
43. [A]The first published sketch
44. [C]Soon after Sketches by Boz appeared
45. [G] After Pickwick, Dickens plunged into a bleaker world
Part C
Directions:
Read the following text carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese. Your translation should be written neatly on the ANSWER SHEET. (10 points)
The growth of the use of English as the world`s primary language for international communication has obviously been continuing for several decades.
(46)But even as the number of English speakers expands further there are signs that the global predominance of the language may fade within the foreseeable future.
Complex international, economic, technological and culture change could start to diminish the leading position of English as the language of the world market, and UK interests which enjoy advantage from the breath of English usage would consequently face new pressures. Those realistic possibilities are highlighted in the study presented by David Graddol
(47)His analysis should therefore end any self-contentedness among those who may believe that the global position of English is so stable that the young generation of the United Kingdom do not need additional language capabilities.
David Graddol concludes that monoglot English graduates face a bleak economic future as qualified multilingual youngsters from other countries are proving to have a competitive advantage over their British counterparts in global companies and organizations. Alongside that,(48)many countries are introducing English into the primary-school curriculum but British schoolchildren and students do not appear to be gaining greater encouragement to achieve fluency in other languages.
If left to themselves, such trends will diminish the relative strength of the English language in international education markets as the demand for educational resources in languages, such as Spanish ,Arabic or Mandarin grows and international business process outsourcing in other language such as Japanese, French and German, spreads.
(49)The changes identified by David Graddol all present clear and major challenges to UK`s providers of English language teaching to people of other countries and to broader education business sectors. The English language teaching sector directly earns nearly &1.3 billion for the UK in invisible exports and our other education related explores earn up to &10 billion a year more. As the international education market expands, the recent slowdown in the number of international students studying in the main English-speaking countries is likely to continue, especially if there are no effective strategic policies to prevent such slippage.
The anticipation of possible shifts in demand provided by this study is significant:(50) It gives a basis to all organization which seek to promote the learning and very different operating environment. That is a necessary and practical approach. In this as in much else, those who wish to influence the future must prepare for it.
【答案】
(46) 但是即使当下英语使用者的人群还在进一步扩大，有迹象表明：在可预见的未来，英语可能会逐渐失去其全球主导地位。
(47) 因此，对于那些认为英语的国际地位无懈可击、甚至觉得他们的年青后辈们不需要学习其他语言的人而言，他的分析可能会给他们的骄傲自大画上一个句号。
(48) 众多国家正在将英语引进小学课程，但是，毫不夸张地说，英国学童和学生似乎没有受到更多的'鼓励去学会流利地使用其他语言。
(49) 大卫·葛拉尔多所发现的变化给教授他国人士英语的英国机构以及更广阔的教育市场带来了显而易见的巨大挑战。
(50)这给所有致力于推广英语学习和使用的机构提供了一个制定规划的依据，让我们能够应对未来完全不同的操作环境里出现的各种可能性。
Section III Writing
Part A
51. Directions：
You are to write an email to James Cook , a newly-arrived Australian professor , recommending some tourist attractions in your city . Please give reasons for your recommendation .
You should write neatly on the ANSWER SHEET .
Do not sign your own name at the end of the email . Use "Li Ming" instead.
Do not write the address . (10 points)
【参考范文】
Dear James Cook,
Welcome to China! I'm writing this email to recommend some scenic spots in Beijing to you so that you can have a wonderful time here.
First of all, you could have a visit to the Summer Palace and Forbidden City, which are renowned for its old buildings and diverse cultures. After that, it is advisable to go to Wang Fujing, where you can have a taste of some delicious local food while enjoying the traditional culture. Finally, you can go to the National Museum, in which some traditional art exhibitions are being held. What do you think of my plans?
I sincerely hope that you could enjoy yourselves in Beijing and it will be my pleasure to be your guide.
Yours sincerely,
Li Ming
Part B
52. Directions：
Write an essay of 160-200 words based on the following pictures. In your essay , you should
1)describe the pictures briefly,
2)interpret the meaning , and
3)give your comments.
You should write neatly on the ANSWER SHEET.( 20 points )
【参考范文】
Portrayed in the two cartoons is thought-provoking: In the left one, a young man, comfortably lounging on the chair, is looking at his huge bookshelf full of books contentedly, while the other, in the right drawing, is determined to finish reading 20 books in a year.
By this scenario, the cartoonist is trying to awaken us to the importance of reading and sticking to our goals. It is universally held that with the advance of modern society, only those equipped with updated knowledge which requires constant reading are most likely to reach the summit of the success. Conversely, without persistent learning and taking actions, our objectives are bound to be a fantasy. Indeed, people fail always because they stop trying, not because they encounter invincible difficulties.
From what has been mentioned above, we may reasonably arrive at the conclusion that only those who keep learning and cherish the spirit of persistence have opportunities to succeed. Therefore, such essence is an important virtue worthy of being fostered. If you understand and adhere to this principle in your study and work, you will definitely benefit greatly.
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