北京大学真题2005年
(总分88, 做题时间90分钟)
Part Ⅰ Listening Comprehension

Part Ⅱ Structure and Written Expression
Directions: In each question decide which of the four choices given will most suitably complete the sentence if inserted at the place marked.  Mark your choices on the ANSWER SHEET.
1. 
That Pacific island attracts shoals of tourists with its rich ______ of folk arts.
A heritage
B heredity
C heroism
D hermitage
2. 
As for the missing funds, the company manager, when demanded to give an explanation, could not even come up with a ______ one.
A plaintive
B pervasive
C perpetual
D plausible
3. 
The government's policies in the past five years have shown a (n) ______ in emphasizing the necessity of improving the peasants' livelihood.
A exaltation
B coherence
C agony
D behavior
4. 
The Chinese world diving champion was ______ from the national team, which has been front-page reported in the country for several days.
A displayed
B dispersed
C disarmed
D dismissed
5. 
A comet is distinguished from other bodies in the solar system ______.
A into its appearance
B off its appearance
C by its appearance
D to its appearance
6. 
______ of the Pennsylvania Gazette, Benjamin Franklin tried hard to make the periodical popular.
A As owner and editor
B While was owner and editor
C Having being owner and editor
D To be owner and editor
7. 
______ the First World War, the United States became the dominant force in the motion-picture industry.
A It was during the advent under
B With the advent of
C To follow the advent
D Upon the advent at
8. 
He had no alternative but ______ to fight in the Middle East.
A to go
B go
C going
D went
9. 
Shall we request that the manager ______ our suggestion again?
A consider
B considers
C considered
D must consider
10. 
He has little trouble ______ the tires of his car.
A to fix
B fix
C fixing
D with fixing
11. 
John wishes now that he ______ the Spring Festival at home.
A spent
B had spent
C has spent
D did spend
12. 
The hostess ______ the maid ______ the table for dinner while we arrived after a three-hour drive from the town.
A told, to make
B was telling, to do
C told, to lay
D was telling, to set
13. 
Mrs.  James ______ a divorce from her husband, for she can no longer his stormy temper.
A is seeking, put up with
B seeks, put down with
C is seeking, put up for
D seeks, put down for
14. 
Before she could shout "look ______ "to the old man, he was run by a car coining from his left.
A back, on
B out, over
C up, down
D ahead, at
15. 
In the north of the country, the sun always shines ______ the vast prairie land in summer.
A brightly on
B bright on
C bright in
D brightly in
16. 
That grand--sized pine tree ______ the horizon.
A stands up well against
B stands out good to
C stands out well against
D stands up good to
17. 
"The effect of this medicine ______ by midnight," the doctor told Emma"You had better not try to read tonight."
A will wear off
B wears off
C will have worn off
D will be worn off
18. 
______, the guest speaker was ushered into the auditorium hall to give the lecture.
A Being shown around the campus
B Having shown to the campus
C After been shown around the campus
D Having been shown around the campus
19. 
The new computer virus ______, the system was restored to its normal operation.
A having removed
B being removed
C had been removed
D was removed
20. 
Surveys show that ______ less sleep than we think, ______ too much sleep could even harm our health.
A not only do we need, but that
B not only we need, but also
C not only we need, but that
D not only do we need, but also
Part Ⅲ Reading Comprehension
Part A
Directions: Each of the following three passages is followed by some questions. For each question four answers are given. Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each question. Mark your choices on the ANSWER SHEET.

Passage One
                                  Cell Phone Hegemony
   I recall how annoying it was years ago when smoking everywhere was legal in California. Many complained about the restrictions when they arrived, but I didn't, because I seriously hated watching shoppers smoking through the tomatoes and lettuce in the vegetable section of the store.
   People forget how sickening that used to be, especially with the butts all over the grocery store floor.  Tossing a burning smoke on the ground, stomping it with your foot, and leaving it to be swept up by somebody else later was somehow OK.
   But laws were passed, and you could finally shop without having to buy broccoli while gagging on a nearby Winston.
   Grocery stores are now filled with drips talking on cell phones about their sisters.  I believe these obnoxious chatterers are all rebellious smokers getting back at us.  This is worse than smoking! How did these phones come to dominate our lives like this, and does anyone even try to resist?
   Cell phones now rule the world's collective unconscious in untold ways.  What astonishes me about all this is the sociology that has crept up on us.  Why do we have this incessant need to chat on cell phones all day long? Test out this thesis.  Make a note of a friend who calls you from both a cell phone and a land-line at different times. Time the calls and note the content.  The cell phone calls will always be longer and more inane-without exceptions!
21. 
In the second sentence of the first paragraph, the pronoun "they" in "when they arrive" refers to ______.
A restrictions
B shoppers
C complaints
D people
22. 
In the third paragraph, "gagging on a nearby Winston" means ______.
A near the broccoli counter m the shop was the counter that sold cigarettes
B while buying vegetables, one very often inhaled cigarette smoke in the shop
C there were many people in the shop who were smoking Winston brand cigarettes
D years ago the majority of the shoppers smoked when buying things
23. 
According to the 4th paragraph, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A People like to talk in grocery stores endlessly about their sisters and family matters.
B The obnoxious users of cell phone in public places remind us of the smokers in grocery stores years ago.
C Smokers were angry when laws were passed to forbid smoking in groceries, and they now talked loudly in the shops on cell phone to rebel and revenge.
D People who now talk incessantly on cell phone in grocery stores are those who liked to smoke there before.
24. 
What do you think is the writer's purpose in writing this passage?
A To tell the reader that the use of cell phones is as bad as smoking.
B To call for a ban on the use of cell phones in the public.
C To emphasize the immoral effect of the cell phone on our consciousness.
D To draw public attention to the problems caused by the use of cell phones.
Passage Two
                             English as a world Language
   English is a victim of its own success.  Newspapers in England have noticed that the incorrect use of cliches are marring the smooth flow of a great language whose ability to imbibe and absorb has been one important reason for its success. This success also stems from the language's unique position of being the only one spoken in most parts of the world. Really, English has no boundaries. Even in countries such as Japan and China, which were not colonized by Britain, English is making a determined "conquest".
   Unfortunately, such a conquest is not always welcome because a language sometimes doubles as a political weapon.  In fact, it has always led a troubled life.  It has been disliked, even hated, largely because the people who originally spoke English conquered, colonized and terrorized half the world, or just about.  The animosity to the language continues, at least in some places.  The bitterness that the French, for instance, have for English is a good example of a language being given a quasi-political role in society.
   Fortunately, this aversion does not run as deep as it did some years ago, and there is a growing realization that English is the lingua franca.  Many nations, such as China and Japan, have been making serious efforts to promote the language.
   But there might be a serious problem if every state or continent were to have its own version of English.  As is pointed out by the newspapers of England, with too many variations of the language, a time may come when one group of English-speaking people may not be able to understand another.  This is happening where the way Singaporeans speak English.  Listen to the Australians pronouncing "e"; it sounds like "a".  And very possibly, in the future nobody will try to correct school boys and girls for getting their English wrong.
25. 
In this passage, the success of English refers to the fact that ______.
A it has become the most widely used language in the world
B It has made a conquest in Japan and China, which were not colonized by Britain
C it has beaten other languages such as French
D each state or continent has its own version of English
26. 
The bitterness of the French people toward the English language shows
A what a political role languages can play in society
B how people can attach political significance to which language they speak
C languages in fact always fail to play a political role in society
D some people like to give languages roles to play
27. 
In the future, nobody will try to correct children when they speak wrong English, because ______.
A people all want to promote the learning of English
B English will change to be that spoken by Singaporeans and Australians
C people will not be able to understand each other
D too many versions of English will make it impossible to tell what is correct English
Passage Three
                                           Affluenza
   For many people, economic growth and an increase in possessions are signs of progress, but for anti-consumer groups overconsumption and materialism are sicknesses.  A recent Public Broadcasting Service coined the term affluenza, which describes consumption of material goods in a strongly negative way.
   Af-flu-en-za (noun) combines two words: affluence and fluenza. According to anti-consumer and environmental fights organizations, the high consumption life stiles of affluence cause people to be less happy even though they are acquiring more "things". The major negative effect on the environment is that overconsumption is depleting the world's natural resources, anti-consumer groups argue.  Furthermore, the groups observe that an artificial.  Ongoing and insatiable quest for things and the money to buy them has replaced the normal desire for an adequate supply of life's necessities, community life, a stable family, and healthy relationships.  For example, today's families are replacing items much more frequently than in the past.  Many Americans now treat clothing as "disposable", discarding clothes when fashion changes, and creating a boom in thrift stores and yard sales.  The U. S. A.'s largest export is now used clothes. About 2.5 million tons of unfashionable old clothes' and rags are sold to Third World countries every year.
28. 
A coined word is a word that ______.
A combines two words together
B is often made by putting words or parts of words together
C is made in the way coins are produced
D gives an old word a new meaning
29. 
In the word "affluenza" is implied the meaning that ______.
A too much money is a disaster
B a life of affluence is like a fluenza
C over-consumption is like an epidemic brought by affluence
D affluence is a negative thing
30. 
According to this passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?
A Consuming insatiably will hasten the exhaustion of natural resources.
B A superficial pursuit of material things will bring problems to family relationships.
C One positive thing about overconsumption of Americans is that large exports of used clothes are sent to Third World countries.
D Americans nowadays are replacing their cars, TV sets and furniture very frequently.
Part B
Directions: Read the following passage carefully and then explain in your own English the exact meaning of the numbered and underlined parts.  Put your answers on ANSWER SHEET 2.

                      America Loses a Great Public Thinker
   Arthur Miller's death last week meant more than the loss of an outstanding playwright.  It was the loss of a great public thinker who believed strongly that the essence of America--its greatness was in its promises. 71. Miller knew what ignorance and fear and the madness of crowds, especially when exploited by sinister leadership, could do to those promises. 72. His greatest concerns, "were with the moral corruption brought on by bending one's ideals to society's dictates, buying into the values of a group when they conflict with the voice of personal conscience. "73. The individual in Miller's view, had an abiding moral responsibility for his or her own behavior, and for the behavior of society as a whole. He said that "I felt that as improbable as it might seem, there were moments when an individual conscience was all that could keep a world from falling."
   Miller saw some of the differences in two sharply, defined eras: the depression--wracked 1930s and the prosperous postwar 1950s.  It was perhaps around 1936, people who used to mind no polities began thinking for the first time of common action as a way out of their impossible conditions.  74. By the early 50s the agony of the Depression was gone.  McCarthyism was in flower.  After the 50's, however, Americans became more practical and pragmatic.  The dean of the University of Michigan was complaining that his students' highest goal was to fit in with corporate America rather than to separate truth from falsehood.  75. "They become experts at grade-getting, but there's less speculating about the wrongs of the world and ideal solutions something no employer was interested in." Now Miller is gone, and if we are not wise enough to pay attention, his uncomfortable truths will die with him.
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Part Ⅳ Cloze Test
Directions: Read the following passage carefully and then fill in each numbered blank with ONE suitable word to complete the passage.  Put your answers on ANSWER SHEET 2.

   Superstition is a difficult question.  We cannot quite say that superstition in Britain is dead. Its history is both  (76)   long and too recent for that, and indeed you will find many relics of it in modern Britain.  But they are only relics connected chiefly with vague notions of good luck and  (77)   luck.  It is unlucky, for instance, to walk under a ladder, or to spill salt, or break a mirror, or to have  (78)   to do with number 13; whereas a horseshoe brings good  (79)  , and people jokingly "touch wood"  (80)   prevent the return of a past misfortune.  There are still many strange country remedies against sickness  (81)   are obviously superstitious.  But the real measure of superstition is fear.  In this  (82)   there is no superstition in Britain.  British people as a whole do  (83)   believe in evil influences or evil spirits. Sickness and misfortune are not the  (84)   of witchcraft, but of dirt or chance or foolishness or inefficiency Witches belong  (85)   to history books.
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Part Ⅴ Proofreading
Directions: In the following passage, there are altogether 10 mistakes, ONE in each numbered and underlined part.  You may have to change a word, add a word, or just delete a word. If you change a word, cross it with a slash (—) and write the correct word beside it. If you add a word, write the missing word between the words (in brackets) immediately before and after it.  If you delete a word, cross it out with a slash (—).  Put your answers on ANSWER SHEET 2.

Each day, 50, 000 shiny, fire-engine-red Gala apples work the way through a sprawling factory in Swedesboro, N. J. (87) Inside, 26 machines wash them, core them, peel them, seed them, slice them, chill them.  At the end of the line, (88) they are dunked in a solution of calcium ascorbate and now deposited into little green bags featuring a jogging Ronald McDonald.  From there, (89) the bags make their way in refrigerated trucks to refrigerated containers in distribution centers, then to thousand of McDonald's restaurants up and down the Eastern Seaboard. (90) No more than 14 days before leaving the plant, the fruit will take the place of French fries in some child's Happy Meal.
   The apple slices, called Apple Dippers, are a symbol of how McDonald's is trying to offer healthier food to its customers (91) and to answer the many critics who contend that most of its menu is poor nutritional quality. (92) McDonald's has also not introduced a variety of "premium"  salads, which will soon be joined by a salad of grapes, walnuts--and, of course, apples.
   (93) Yet it still remains to be seen these new offerings will assuage the concerns of public health officials and other critics of McDonald's highly processed fat and calorieladen sandwiches, drinks and fries. (94) So far, however, they have not--at least not have entirely. But this much is already clear: just as its staple meals of burger and fries have made McDonald's the largest single buyer of beef and potatoes in the country, (95) its new focus on fresh fruits and vegetables is making the company a minor player on $ 80 billion American produce industry.
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Part Ⅵ Writing
Directions: Write a short composition of about 250 to 300 words on the topic given below. Write it neatly on ANSWER SHEET 2.
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   Topic: Is English Language Teaching Overemphasized in Chinese Education?