2019年上半年学位英语考试模拟试题及答案8_第3页

　　Passage 3

　　Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage:

　　Oceanography has been defined as “the application of all sciences to the study of the sea”.

　　Before the 19th century, scientists with an interest in the sea were few and far between. Certainly Newton considered some theoretical aspects of it in his writings, but he was reluctant to go to sea to further his work.

　　For most people the sea was remote, and with the exception of early international travelers or others who earned a living from the sea, there was little reason to ask many questions about it, let alone to ask what lay beneath the surface. The first time that the question "What is at the bottom of the ocean?" had to be answered with any commercial consequence was when the laying of a telegraph cable from Europe to America was proposed. The engineers had to know the depth profile (起伏形状) of the route to estimate the length of the cable that had to be manufactured.

　　It was to Maury of the US Navy that the Atlantic Telegraph Company turned, in 1853, for information on this matter. In the 1840s, Maury had been responsible for encouraging voyages during which soundings (测深) were taken to investigate the depth of the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Later, some of his findings aroused much popular interest in his book The Physical Geography of the Sea.

　　The cable was laid, but not until 1866 was the connection made permanent and reliable. At the early attempts, the cable failed and when it was taken out for repairs it was found to be covered in living growth, a fact which defied contemporary scientific opinion that there was no life in the deeper parts of the sea.

　　Within a few years oceanography was under way. In 1872 Thomson led a scientific expedition (考察), which lasted for four years and brought home thousand of samples from the sea. Their classification and analysis occupied scientists for years and led to a five-volume report, the last volume being published in 1985.

　　31. The proposal to lay a telegraph cable from Europe to America made oceanographic studies take on________.

　　A. an academic aspect B. a military aspect

　　C. a business aspect D. an international aspect

　　32. It was________ that asked Maury for help in oceanographic studies.

　　A. the American navy

　　B. some early intercontinental travelers

　　C. those who earned a living from the sea

　　D. the company which proposed to lay undersea cable

　　33. The aim of the voyages Maury was responsible for in the 1840s was______.

　　A. to make some sounding experiments in the oceans

　　B. to collect samples of sea plants and animals

　　C. to estimate the length of cable what was needed

　　D. to measure the depth of the two oceans

　　34. “Defied” (Para. 5) probably means __________.

　　A. doubted B. gave proof to C. challenged D. agreed to

　　35. This passage is mainly about_________.

　　A. the beginning of oceanography

　　B. the laying of the first undersea cable

　　C. the investigation of ocean depth

　　D. the early intercontinental communications

　　Passage 4

　　Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage:

　　“. . . We are not about to enter the Information Age but instead rather well into it. Present predictions are that by 1990, about thirty million jobs in the United States, or about thirty percent of the job market, will be computer-related. In 1980, only twenty-one percent of all United States high schools owned one or more computers for students use. In the fall of 1985, a new survey revealed that half of United States secondary schools have fifteen or more computers for student use. And now the educational experts, administrators, and even the general public are demanding that all students become 'computer literate'. By the year 2000, knowledge of computers will be necessary in over eighty percent of all occupations. Soon those people not educated in computer use will be compared to those who are print illiterate today.”

　　What is "computer literacy"? The term itself seems to imply some extent of "knowing" about computer, but knowing about what. The current opinion seems to be that this should include a general knowledge of what computers are, plus a little of their history and something of how they operate.

　　Therefore, it is vital that educators everywhere take a careful look not only at what is being done, but also at what should be done in the field of computer education. Today most adults are capable of utilizing a motor vehicle without the slightest knowledge of how the internal-combustion (内燃机) engine works. We effectively use all types of electrical equipment without being able to tell their history or to explain how they work. Business people for years have made good use of typewriters and adding machines, yet few have ever known how to repair them. Why, then, attempt to teach computers by teaching how or why they work?

　　Rather, we first must concentrate on teaching effective use of the computer as the tool is.

　　“Knowing how to use a computer is what is going to be important, we don't talk about 'automobile literacy'. We just get in our cars and drive them.”

　　36. In 1990, the number of jobs having nothing to do with computers in the United States will be reduced to____________.

　　A. 79 million B. 30 million C. 70million D. 100 million

　　37. The expression "print illiterate" (Para. 1) refers to__________.

　　A. one who has never learnt printing

　　B. one who is not computer literate

　　C. one who has never learnt to read

　　D. one who is not able to use typewriters

　　38. The first paragraph is mainly about____________.

　　A. recent prediction of computer-related jobs

　　B. the wide use if computer in schools

　　C. the urgency of computer education

　　D. public interest in computers

　　39. According to the author, the effective way to spread the use of computers is to teach____________.

　　A. what computers are B. how to use computers

　　C. where computers can be used D. how computers work

　　40. Which of the following statement is FALSE?

　　A. What to teach about computer should be reconsidered.

　　B. Those who are not educated in computer use will soon find it difficult to get a job.

　　C. Human society has already entered the Information Age.

　　D. Those who want to use computers should know how computers operate.