評(píng)論
打印
TEXT B?
The men and women of Anglo-Saxon England normally bore one name only. Distinguis hing epithets were rarely added. These might be patronymic, descriptive or occup ational. They were, however, hardly surnames. Heritable names gradually became g eneral in the three centuries following the Norman Conquest in 1066. It was not until the 13th and 14th centuries that surnames became fixed, although for many years after that, the degree of stability in family names varied considerably in different parts of the country.?
British surnames fall mainly into four broad categories: patronymic, occupationa l, descriptive and local. A few names, it is true, will remain puzzling: foreign names, perhaps, crudely translated, adapted or abbreviated; or artificial names .? In fact, over fifty per cent of genuine British surnames derive from place names of different kinds, and so they belong to the last of our four main categories. Even such a name as Simpson may belong to this last group, and not to the first , had the family once had its home in the ancient village of that name. Otherwis e, Simpson means “the son of Simon”, as might be expected.?
Hundreds of occupational surnames are at once familiar to us, or at least r ecognisable after a little thought: Archer, Carter, Fisher, Mason, Thatcher, Tay lor, to name but a few. Hundreds of others are more obscure in their meanings an d testify to the amazing specialisation in medieval arts, crafts and functions. Such are “Day”, (Old English for breadmaker) and “Walker” (a fuller whose job it was to clean and thicken newly made cloth).?
All these vocational names carry with them a certain gravity and dignity, w hich descriptive names often lack. Some, it is true, like “Long”, “Short” or “Li ttle”, are simple. They may be taken quite literally. Others require more thinki ng: their meanings are slightly different from the modem ones. “Black” and “White ” implied dark and fair respectively. “Sharp” meant genuinely discerning, alert, acute rather than quick-witted or clever.? Place-names have a lasting interest since there is hardly a town or village in a ll England that has not at some time given its name to a family. They may be pic turesque, even poetical; or they may be pedestrian, even trivial. Among the comm oner names which survive with relatively little change from old-English times ar e “Milton”(middle enclosure) and “Hilton”(enclosure on a hill).?
70. Surnames are said to be ___ in Anglo-Saxon England.?
A. common B. vocational C. unusual D. descriptiv e ?
71. We learn from the first paragraph ___ for many years after the 13th and 14th centuries.?
A. family names became descriptive and occupational?
B. people in some areas still had no surnames?
C. some people kept changing their surnames?
D. all family names became fixed in England ?
72. “Patronymic” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to “forme d from ___.?
A. the name of one’s father” B. the family occupation”? C. one’s family home” D. one’s family history” ?
73. Which of the following sentences is an opinion rather than a fact??
A. hundreds of occupational names are at once familiar to us.?
B. “Black” and “White” implied “dark” and “fair” respectively.?
C. Vocational names carry with them a certain gravity and dignity.?
D. Every place in England has given its name to a family. ??
TEXT C
Since the early 1930s, Swiss banks had prided themselves on their system of banking secrecy and numbered accounts. Over the years, they had successfully w ithstood every challenge to this system by their own government who, in turn, ha d been frequently urged by foreign governments to reveal information about the f inancial affairs to certain account holders. The result of this policy of secre cy was that a kind of mystique had grown up around Swiss banking. There was a w idely-held belief that Switzerland was irresistible to wealthy foreigners, mainl y because of its numbered accounts and bankers’ reluctance to ask awkward questi ons of depositors. Contributing to the mystique was the view, carefully propagat ed by the banks themselves, that if this secrecy was ever given up, foreigners w ould fall over themselves in the rush to withdraw money, and the Swiss banking s ystem would virtually collapse overnight.?
To many, therefore, it came like a bolt out of the blue, when, in 1977, the Swiss banks announced they had signed a pact with the Swiss National Bank (the Central Bank). The aim of the agreement was to prevent to improper use of the c ountry’s bank secrecy laws, and its effect was to curb severely the system of se crecy.?
The rules which the banks had agreed to observe made the opening of numbere d accounts subject to much closer scrutiny than before. The banks would be requ ired, if necessary, to identify the origin of foreign funds going into numbered and other accounts. The idea was to stop such accounts being used for dubious p urposes. Also they agreed not to accept funds resulting from tax evasion or from crime.?
The pact represented essentially a tightening up of banking rules. Although the banks agreed to end relations with clients whose identities were unclear or who were performing improper acts, they were still not obliged to inform on a client to anyone, including the Swiss government. To some extent, therefore, the princ iple of secrecy had been maintained.?
74. Swiss banks took pride in___.?
A. the number of their accounts?
B. withholding client information?
C. being mysterious to the outsiders?
D. attracting wealthy foreign clients ?
75. According to the passage, the widely-held belief that Switzerland w as irresistible to wealthy foreigners was ___ by banks themselves.?
A. denied B. criticized C. reviewed D. defended ?
76. In the last paragraph, the writer thinks that___.?
A. complete changes had been introduced into Swiss banks?
B. Swiss banks could no longer keep client information?
C. changes in the bank policies had been somewhat superficial?
D. more changes need to be considered and made ??
TEXT D
Coketown was a town of red brick, or of brick that would have been red if the sm oke and the ashes had allowed it; but as matters stood it was a town of unnatura l red and black like the painted face of a savage. It was a town of machinery an d tall chimneys, out of which smoke trailed themselves for ever and ever. It had a black canal in it, and a river that ran purple with ill-smelling dye, and vas t piles of buildings full of windows where there was a rattling and a trembling all day long, and where the piston of the steam-engine worked monotonously up an d down like the head of an elephant in a state of madness. The town contained se veral large streets all very like one another, and many small streets still more like one another, inhabited by people equally like one another.?
A sunny midsummer day. There was such a thing sometimes, even in Coketown. Seen from a distance in such weather, Coketown lay covered in a haze of its own. You only knew the town was there, because you knew there could have been no such blo tch upon the view without a town.?
The streets were hot and dusty on the summer day, and the sun was so bright that it even shone through the haze over Coketown, and could not be looked at steadi ly. Workers emerged from low underground doorways into factory yards, and sat on posts and steps, wiping their faces and contemplating coals. The whole town see med to be frying in oil. There was a stifling smell of hot oil everywhere. The a tmosphere of those places was like the breath of hell, and their inhabitants was ting with heat, toiled languidly in the desert. But no temperature made the mad elephants more mad or more sane. Their wearisome heads went up and down at the s ame rate, in hot weather and in cold, wet weather and dry fair weather and foul. The measured motion of their shadows on the walls, was the substitute Coketown had to show for the shadows of rustling woods; while for the summer hum of insec ts, it could offer all the year round, from the dawn of Monday to the night of S aturday, the whirr of shafts and wheels.?
77. Which of the following adjectives is NOT appropriate to describe Co ketown??
A. dull B. dirty C. noisy D. savage ?
78. From the passage we know that Coketown was mainly a(n) ___town .?
A. industrial B. agricultural C. residential D. commercial ?
79. Only ___ were not affected by weather.?
A. the workmen B. the inhabitants? C. the steam-engines D. the rustling woods ?
80. Which is the author’s opinion of Coketown??
A. Coketown should be replaced by woods.?
B. The town was seriously polluted.?
C. The town had too much oil in it.?
D. The town’s atmosphere was traditional.
閱讀理解 B
SECTION B SKIMMING AND SCANNING
In this section there are seven passages with a total often multiple-choice ques tions. Skim or scan them as required and then mark your answers on your answer s heet.???
TEXT E
First read the following question.??
81. The writer is concerned about___.?
A. budget housekeeping B. the retail trade? C. computer skills D. mental arithmetic ?
?Now read Text E quickly and mark your answer on your answer sheet.??
A lot of attention is being given to children who leave school unable to read or write. I think there should be equal concern for those who are unable to cope w ith simple mental arithmetic -particularly girls.? It is often stated that today’s children are growing up in a computer world and they don’t need the same skills that their grandparents did. But is it any wonde r that many young girls trying to cope with budget housekeeping fail for the sim ple reason they cannot keep accurate checks on their purchases?? Shopping in markets is no source of cheap purchasing unless one is able to keep pace with the apparent mental agility of the vendor.? Must we face the thought that at some time in the distant future everyone will n eed to carry in their handbag or pocket one of the miniature calculators??
? TEXT F
First read the following question.??
82. This is a letter of___.?
A. reference B. application C. inquiry D. complaint ?
Now read Text F quickly and mark your answer on your answer sheet.??
10 Garden Ave.?
Essex?
The Personnel Officer?
Belgian Medico Ltd.?
P0 Box 920?
Brussels?
Belgium?
5th May 200___ ?
Dear Sir,?
With reference to your advertisement in the “Daily Star”, I’d like to apply for the position of translator with your firm.? I hold a degree in German and French from the University of London. And I have w orked as a translator for the past three years with Watson & Sons, Ltd., manufac turer of laboratory instruments, translating business correspondence from French and German into English.? I am 25 years old and unmarried. I enjoy living and working in different countri es and I should welcome the chance of moving to Belgium.?
Yours sincerely,?
(Miss) Janet Holbrooke??
TEXT G
First read the following question.??
83. The passage is mainly about___.?
A. loneliness B. experience C.memory D. isolation ?
?Now read Text G quickly and mark your answer on your answer sheet.??
Loneliness is a curious thing. Most of us can remember feeling most lonely when we were not in fact alone at all, but when we were surrounded by people. Everyon e has experienced, at some time, that strong sense of isolation that comes over you when you are at a party or in a room full of happy laughing people. It sudde nly seems to you as if everybody knows everybody else, everybody knows what is g oing on; everybody, that is, except you.?
This feeling of loneliness which can overcome you when you are in a crowd is ver y difficult to get rid of. People living alone are advised to tackle their lonel iness by joining a club or a society, by going out and meeting people.??
TEXT H
First read the following question.??
84. The author mainly discusses ___ of public transportation.?
A. the price B. the types C. the improveme nt D. the advantage ?
Now read Text H quickly and mark your answer on your answer sheet.??
The price of public transportation in Beijing has doubled twice since 1989, but it is still a bargain. Using the subway and minibuses used to show class status; now people of all classes take them, while some wealthy prefer taxis or private cars. What a change in just a few years!But there are downfalls to having more cars on the roads. Fortunately, the gover nment is aware of the problem. No-lead gasoline is the only one permitted in the city, and the rest of the country follows. Thousands of trees are planted in an d around the city every year. Children are taught why and how to protect the env ironment. At the same time, public transportation has marked real progress: buse s are everywhere and run frequently. We no longer see those old buses with broke n windows. Instead, there are fast buses, double-decker buses, air-conditioned o r heated buses, all offering a good service.??
TEXT I
First read the following questions.??
85. Each participating team should at least have ___?
A. two B.three C.four D. five ?
86. Participants can bring along their ___ to the competition.?
A. Christmas trees B. Christmas presents? C. festival costumes D. decoration materials ?
Now read Text I quickly and mark your answers on your answer sheet.??
With Christmas Day around the corner, Hong Kong’s Provisional Regional Council announced that a Christmas tree decoration competition will be held on Sunday in conjunction with the ongoing Regional Council Festival.? Members of the public are welcome to take part in the competition as families or small groups. Each team should be formed by at least three persons.? A total of 99 Christmas trees of 1.5 metres in height will be available for the participating teams to decorate. Participants can bring along their own decorati on materials and to use their imagination and creativity to achieve the best res ults.?
Each participating team can take home the Christmas tree it has decorated as a souvenir. In addition, there will be cash awards for the winners.??
TEXT J
First read the following questions.??
87. If you only have time for a half-day trip, which day would you choo se??
A. Sunday 23 July. B. Saturday 15 July.? C. Wednesday 9 August. D. Saturday 5 August. ?
88. Which of the following trips offers you the opportunity to see Geor gian architecture??
A. Trip One. B. Trip Two. C. Trip Three. D. Trip Four. ?
Now read Text quickly and mark your answers on your answer sheet.??
Summer Outings?
Trip One?
Saturday 15 July Stratford-upon-Avon and “Julius Caesar”?
The coach will leave at 9 am, allowing a couple of hours to visit Stratford befo re the performance of “Julius Caesar” at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Back aro
und 7:30 pm.??
Trip Two?
Sunday 23 July Bath?
The spa town of Bath contains the country’s finest Roman ruins, and much elegant Georgian architecture. The coach will depart at 9 am, returning at around 6:30 pm.??
Trip Three?
Saturday 5 August Stratford-upon-Avon and “The Taming of the Shrew”? Another chance to visit Stratford. “The Taming of the Shrew” stars Josie Lawrenc e in the title role. The coach will leave at 9 am, returning at around 7:30 pm.??
Trip Four?
Wednesday 9 August Oxford and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”? A half-day trip to Oxford. The coach will leave at 2:15 pm, allowing an afternoo n to see the sights before one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays at the Playho use Theatre. Back after the show.??
