徐州師范大學(xué)08級(jí)教育碩士英語試卷(四).doc

徐州師范大學(xué)08級(jí)教育碩士英語試卷（四）Part I Reading Comprehension 30%Directions :There are 4passages in this part. Each passage is followed by questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice.Passage One (Violence Can Do Nothing to Diminish Race Prejudice)In some countries where racial prejudice is acute, violence has so come to be taken for granted as a means of solving differences, that it is not even questioned. There are countries where the white man imposes his rule by brute force; there are countries where the black man protests by setting fire to cities and by looting and pillaging. Important people on both sides, who would in other respects appear to be reasonable men, get up and calmly argue in favor of violence as if it were a legitimate solution, like any other. What is really frightening, what really fills you with despair, is the realization that when it comes to the crunch, we have made no actual progress at all. We may wear collars and ties instead of war-paint, but our instincts remain basically unchanged. The whole of the recorded history of the human race, that tedious documentation of violence, has taught us absolutely nothing. We have still not learnt that violence never solves a problem but makes it more acute. The sheer horror, the bloodshed, the suffering mean nothing. No solution ever comes to light the morning after when we dismally contemplate the smoking ruins and wonder what hit us.The truly reasonable men who know where the solutions lie are finding it harder and herder to get a hearing. They are despised, mistrusted and even persecuted by their own kind because they advocate such apparently outrageous things as law enforcement. If half the energy that goes into violent acts were put to good use, if our efforts were directed at cleaning up the slums and ghettos, at improving living-standards and providing education and employment for all, we would have gone a long way to arriving at a solution. Our strength is sapped by having to mop up the mess that violence leaves in its wake. In a well-directed effort, it would not be impossible to fulfill the ideals of a stable social programme. The benefits that can be derived from constructive solutions are everywhere apparent in the world around us. Genuine and lasting solutions are always possible, providing we work within the framework of the law.Before we can even begin to contemplate peaceful co-existence between the races, we must appreciate each others problems. And to do this, we must learn about them: it is a simple exercise in communication, in exchanging information. Talk, talk, talk, the advocates of violence say, all you ever do is talk, and we are none the wiser. Its rather like the story of the famous barrister who painstakingly explained his case to the judge. After listening to a lengthy argument the judge complained that after all this talk, he was none the wiser. Possible, my lord, the barrister replied, none the wiser, but surely far better informed. Knowledge is the necessary prerequisite to wisdom: the knowledge that violence creates the evils it pretends to solve.1. What is the best title for this passage?A Advocating Violence.B Violence Can Do Nothing to Diminish Race Prejudice.C Important People on Both Sides See Violence As a Legitimate Solution.D The Instincts of Human Race Are Thirsty for Violence.2. Recorded history has taught usA violence never solves anything.B nothing.C the bloodshed means nothing.D everything.3. It can be inferred that truly reasonable menA cant get a hearing.B are looked down upon.C are persecuted.D Have difficulty in advocating law enforcement.4. “He was none the wiser” means A he was not at all wise in listening.B He was not at all wiser than nothing before.C He gains nothing after listening.D He makes no sense of the argument.5. According the author the best way to solve race prejudice is A law enforcement.B knowledge.C nonviolence.D Mopping up the violent mess.Passage Two (Pop Stars Earn Much)Pop stars today enjoy a style of living which was once the prerogative only of Royalty. Wherever they go, people turn out in their thousands to greet them. The crowds go wild trying to catch a brief glimpse of their smiling, colorfully dressed idols. The stars are transported in their chauffeur driven Rolls-Royces, private helicopters or executive aeroplanes. They are surrounded by a permanent entourage of managers, press agents and bodyguards. Photographs of them appear regularly in the press and all their comings and goings are reported, for, like Royalty, pop stars are news. If they enjoy many of the privileges of Royalty, they certainly share many of the inconveniences as well. It is dangerous for them to make unscheduled appearances in public. They must be constantly shielded from the adoring crowds which idolize them. They are no longer private individuals, but public property. The financial rewards they receive for this sacrifice cannot be calculated, for their rates of pay are astronomical.And why not? Society has always rewarded its top entertainers lavishly. The great days of Hollywood have become legendary: famous stars enjoyed fame, wealth and adulation on an unprecedented scale. By todays standards, the excesses of Hollywood do not seem quite so spectacular. A single gramophone record nowadays may earn much more in royalties than the films of the past ever did. The competition for the title Top of the Pops is fierce, but the rewards are truly colossal.It is only right that the stars should be paid in this way. Dont the top men in industry earn enormous salaries for the services they perform to their companies and their countries? Pop stars earn vast sums in foreign currency often more than large industrial concerns and the taxman can only be grateful fro their massive annual contributions to the exchequer. So who would begrudge them their rewards?Its all very well for people in humdrum jobs to moan about the successes and rewards of others. People who make envious remarks should remember that the most famous stars represent only the tip of the iceberg. For every famous star, there are hundreds of others struggling to earn a living. A man working in a steady job and looking forward to a pension at the end of it has no right to expect very high rewards. He has chosen security and peace of mind, so there will always be a limit to what he can earn. But a man who attempts to become a star is taking enormous risks. He knows at the outset that only a handful of competitors ever get to the very top. He knows that years of concentrated effort may be rewarded with complete failure. But he knows, too, that the rewards for success are very high indeed: they are the recompense for the huge risks involved and if he achieves them, he has certainly earned them. Thats the essence of private enterprise.6. The sentence Pop stars style of living was once the prerogative only of Royalty meansA their life was as luxurious as that of royalty.B They enjoy what once only belonged to the royalty.C They are rather rich.D Their way of living was the same as that of the royalty.7. What is the authors attitude toward top stars high income?A Approval.B Disapproval.C Ironical.D Critical.8. It can be inferred from the passageA there exists fierce competition in climbing to the top.B People are blind in idolizing stars.C Successful Pop stars give great entertainment.D The tax they have paid are great.9. What can we learn from the passage?A Successful man should get high-income repayment.B Pop stars made great contribution to a country.C Pop stars can enjoy the life of royalty.D Successful men represent the tip of the iceberg.10. Which paragraph covers the main idea?A The first.B The second.C The third.D The fourth.Passage Three (Examinations Exert a Pernicious Influence on Education)We might marvel at the progress made in every field of study, but the methods of testing a persons knowledge and ability remain as primitive as ever they were. It really is extraordinary that after all these years, educationists have still failed to device anything more efficient and reliable than examinations. For all the pious claim that examinations text what you know, it is common knowledge that they more often do the exact opposite. They may be a good means of testing memory, or the knack of working rapidly under extreme pressure, but they can tell you nothing about a persons true ability and aptitude.As anxiety-makers, examinations are second to none. That is because so much depends on them. They are the mark of success of failure in our society. Your whole future may be decided in one fateful day. It doesnt matter that you werent feeling very well, or that your mother died. Little things like that dont count: the exam goes on. No one can give of his best when he is in mortal terror, or after a sleepless night, yet this is precisely what the examination system expects him to do. The moment a child begins school, he enters a world of vicious competition where success and failure are clearly defined and measured. Can we wonder at the increasing number of drop-outs: young people who are written off as utter failures before they have even embarked on a career? Can we be surprised at the suicide rate among students?A good education should, among other things, train you to think for yourself. The examination system does anything but that. What has to be learnt is rigidly laid down by a syllabus, so the student is encouraged to memorize. Examinations do not motivate a student to read widely, but to restrict his reading; they do not enable him to seek more and more knowledge, but induce cramming. They lower the standards of teaching, for they deprive the teacher of all freedoms. Teachers themselves are often judged by examination results and instead of teaching their subjects, they are reduced to training their students in exam techniques which they despise. The most successful candidates are not always the best educated; they are the best trained in the technique of working under duress.The results on which so much depends are often nothing more than a subjective assessment by some anonymous examiner. Examiners are only human. They get tired and hungry; they make mistakes. Yet they have to mark stacks of hastily scrawled scripts in a limited amount of time. They work under the same sort of pressure as the candidates. And their word carries weight. After a judges decision you have the right of appeal, but not after an examiners. There must surely be many simpler and more effective ways of assessing a persons true abilities. Is it cynical to suggest that examinations are merely a profitable business for the institutions that run them? This is what it boils down to in the last analysis. The best comment on the system is this illiterate message recently scrawled on a wall: I were a teenage drop-out and now I are a teenage millionaire.11. The main idea of this passage isA examinations exert a pernicious influence on education.B examinations are ineffective.C examinations are profitable for institutions.D examinations are a burden on students.12. The authors attitude toward examinations isAdetest.B approval.C critical.D indifferent.13. The fate of students is decided byA education.B institutions.C examinations.D students themselves.14. According to the author, the most important of a good education isA to encourage students to read widely.B to train students to think on their own.C to teach students how to tackle exams.D to master his fate.15. Why does the author mention court?A Give an example.B For comparison.C It shows that teachers evolutions depend on the results of examinations.D It shows the results of court is more effective.Passage Four (Equality of opportunity in the twentieth Century Has Not Destroyed the Class System)These days we hear a lot of nonsense about the great classless society. The idea that the twentieth century is the age of the common man has become one of the great clichs of our time. The same old arguments are put forward in evidence. Here are some of them: monarchy as a system of government has been completely discredited. The monarchies that survive have been deprived of all political power. Inherited wealth has been savagely reduced by taxation and, in time, the great fortunes will disappear altogether. In a number of countries the victory has been complete. The people rule; the great millennium has become a political reality. But has it? Close examination doesnt bear out the claim.It is a fallacy to suppose that all men are equal and that society will be leveled out if you provide everybody with the same educational opportunities. (It is debatable whether you can ever provide everyone with the same educational opportunities, but that is another question.) The fact is that nature dispenses brains and ability with a total disregard for the principle of equality. The old rules of the jungle, survival of the fittest, and might is right are still with us. The spread of education has destroyed the old class system and created a new one. Rewards are based on merit. For aristocracy read meritocracy; in other respects, society remains unaltered: the class system is rigidly maintained.Genuine ability, animal cunning, skill, the knack of seizing opportunities, all bring material rewards. And what is the first thing people do when they become rich? They use their wealth to secure the best possible opportunities for their children, to give them a good start in life. For all the lip service we pay to the idea of equality, we do not consider this wrong in the western world. Private schools which offer unfair advantages over state schools are not banned because one of the principles in a democracy is that people should be free to choose how they will educate their children. In this way, the new meritocracy can perpetuate itself to a certain extent: an able child from a wealthy home can succeed far more rapidly than his poorer counterpart. Wealth is also used indiscriminately to further political ends. It would be almost impossible to become the leader of a democracy without massive financial backing. Money is as powerful a weapon as ever it was. In societies wholly dedicated to the principle of social equality, privileged private education is forbidden. But even here people are rewarded according to their abilities. In fact, so great is the need for skilled workers that the least able may be neglected. Bright children are carefully and expensively trained to become future rulers. In the end, all political ideologies boil down to the same thing: class divisions persist whether you are ruled by a feudal king or an educated peasant.16. What is the main idea of this passage?A Equality of opportunity in the twentieth century has not destroyed the class system.B Equality means money.C There is no such society as classless society.D Nature cant give you a classless society.17. According to the author, the same educational opportunities cant get rid of inequality becauseA the principle survival of the fittest exists.B Nature ignores equality in dispensing brains and ability.C Material rewards are for genuine ability.D People have the freedom how to educate their children.18. Who can obtain more rapid successA those with wealth.B Those with the best brains.C Those with the best opportunities.D Those who have the ability to catch at opportunities.19. Why does the author say the new meritocracy can perpetuate itself to a certain extent? BecauseA money decides everything.B Private schools offer advantages over state schools.C People are free to choose the way of educating their children.D Wealth is used for political ends.20. According to the author, class divisions refers toA the rich and the poor.B Different opportunities for people.C Oppressor and the oppressed.D Genius and stupidity.Part II Cloze 10%Directions: There are 20 blanks in the following passage. For each blank there are four choices marked A),B),C) and D). you should choose the ONE that best fits into the passage.In a telephone survey of more than 2，000 adults，21% said they believed the sun revolved (旋轉(zhuǎn))around the earth. An 1 7% did not know which revolved around 2 I have no doubt that 3 all of these people were 4 in school that the earth revolves around the sun； 5 may even have written it 6 at test. But they never 7 their incorrect mental models of planetary (行星的) 8 because their every -day observations didnt support 9 their teachers told them: People see the sun “moving” 10 the sky as morning turns to night，and the earth seems stationary (靜止的) 11 that is happening. Students can learn the right answers 12 heart in class，and yet never combined them 13 their working models of the world. The objectively cor