2005年3月上海市中級口譯筆試真題
I begin breathing harder and faster. My respiration rate leaps from 12 to 17 breaths per minute. My heat rate jumps from 74 to 80 beats per minute. The electrodes taped to the muscles in my forehead show increased activity (Translation : My brow furrows and I squint a lot)
While I was in no danger of keeling over, my heart rate and other symptoms offered clear evidence that I was under stress, says Robert Bonow, MD, president of the American Heart Association (AHA). Over time, that stress could take a heavy toll.
If you are among the roughly 113 million Americans who drive to work each day. You’re probably grimacing with recognition. With traffic congestion getting worse each year, anyone who travels by car to the office or plant, or who simply shuttles kids from school to violin lessons to slumber parties, may be exposing himself or herself to serious hidden health threats.
All that commuter combat is bound to produce casualties. “People are experiencing more congestion and we know that’s stressful, ”says Colorado State University psychologist Jerry Diefenbaker. Some results are predictable. Reckless driving –sometimes in the form of so-called road rage-is often spurred by traffic frustration. Consider 41-year –old Chris Heard. The mild-mannered engineer used to turn into Mad Max every day as he drove the nearly 50 miles of clogged roads between his home in Brookline, N. H. ,and his office near Boston. “it turned me into a very aggressive driver, ” he says, “taking risks, cutting people off, driving fast on back roads to make up for time I lost , “the result of his congestion-fueled fury ? A stack of speeding tickets and a number of near collisions. Finally he did something about it : He found a job closer to home.
16. According to the passage, Professor Thomas Schnell has created his lab-on –wheels_________.
(A) to make heart jump from 74 to 80 beats per minute
(B) to make respiration rate leap from 12 to 17 breaths per minute
(C) to learn how to make driving enjoyable during rush-hour traffic
(D) to learn how a driver physically reacts to driving
17. Why was the author driving along interstate 90 on a Monday?
(A ) He was test-driving his smart cat.
(B) He liked to pick up his driving skill.
(C) He did not want to be caught in the storm.
(D) He was dong it a test.
18. The phrase ″take heavy″(para.6) is closest in meaning to ____.
(A) grind one’s teeth
(B) damage one’s health
(C) increase one’s activity
(D) pay more at the toll gate
19. Which of the following in NOT true about 41-year-old Chris Heard?
(A) He used to play a role in a movie.
(B) He got a stack of speeding tickets.
(C) He found a job closer to home.
(D) He had a number of near collisions.
20. What is the best title for the passage?
(A) Are You a Reckless Driver?
(B) How Do You Improve Your Driving Skill?
(C) Are you Driving Yourself Sick?
(D) How Do you Design Smart Cars?
Questions 21-25
Transportation is the movement or conveying of persons and goods from one location to another. As human beings, from ancient times to he 21st century, sought to make their transport facilities more efficient, they have always endeavored to move people and property with the least expenditure of time, effort and cost. Improved transportation had helped make possible progress toward better living, the modern systems of manufacturing and commerce, and the complex, interdependent urban economy present in much of the world today.
Primitive human beings supplemented th
