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Part I  Cloze  (10 points)

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 and  write the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.

    From childhood to old age,  we all use language as a means of broadening our knowledge of ourselves and  the world about us. When humans first __1__, they were like newborn children,  unable to use this __2__ tool. Yet once language developed, the possibilities  for humankind’s future __3__ and cultural growth increased.
     Many  linguists believe that evolution is __4__ for our ability to produce and use  language. They __5__ that our highly evolved brain provides us __6__ an  innate language ability not found in lower __7__. Proponents of this  innateness theory say that our __8__ for language is inborn, but that  language itself develops gradually, __9__ a function of the growth of the  brain during childhood. Therefore there are critical __10__ times for  language development.

Current __11__ of innateness theory are  mixed, however, evidence supporting the existence of some innate abilities is  undeniable. __12__, more and more schools are discovering that foreign  languages are best taught in __13__ grades. Young children often can learn  several languages by being __14__ to them, while adults have a much harder  time learning another language once the __15__ of their first language have  become firmly fixed.
       __16__ some aspects of language are undeniably innate, language does  not develop automatically in a vacuum. Children who have been __17__ from  other human beings do not possess language. This demonstrates that __18__  with other human beings is necessary for proper language development. Some  linguists believe that this is even more basic to human language __19__ than  any innate capacities. These theorists view language as imitative, learned  behavior. __20__, children learn language from their parents by imitating  them. Parents gradually shape their child’s language skills by positively  reinforcing precise imitations and negatively reinforcing imprecise ones.

Part II   Reading Comprehension

Section A (40 points)

Directions:  There are 4 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some  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 and write the  corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.

Questions  21 to 25 are based on the following passage.

I’ve been attempting to learn French for  a while now, and it’s a slow process. It’s all much harder this time around  than it was to learn English, my first language. All this effort made me  wonder if there were some tricks to learning a foreign language that I’d been  missing. It turns out that it’s just a tricky thing to do once you’re an  adult.

Learning language is something we’re born  to do. It’s an instinct we have, which is proven, as one research paper says.  To believe that special biological adaptations are a requirement, it is  enough to notice that all the children but none of the dogs and cats in the  house acquire language. As children, we learn to think, learn to communicate  and intuitively pick up an understanding of grammar rules in our mother tongue,  or native language. From then on, we learn all new languages in relation to  the one we first knew — the one that we used to understand the world around  us for the first time ever.

When it comes to learning a second  language, adults are at a disadvantage. One theory of why learning a foreign  language is so hard for adults focuses on the process we go through to do so.  Robert Bley-Vroman explains in Linguistic  Perspectives on Second Language Acquisition that adults approach learning  a new language with an adult problem-solving process, rather than in the same  way a child develops language for the first time.

Although this means adults generally  progress through the early stages of learning a language faster than  children, people who are exposed to a foreign language first during childhood  usually achieve a higher proficiency than those who start out as adults.

There’s still hope, though. A study of  secondary language pronunciation found that some learners who started as  adults scored as well as native speakers. It’s also been shown that  motivation to learn can improve proficiency, so if you really want to learn a  language, it’s not necessarily too late.

21. What did the  author realize from his experience of learning French?

A. Learning  French is difficult for an adult.

B. French is as  difficult as English for him.

C. He has missed  the tips on learning French.

D. It demands  great efforts to learn a language.

22. How are we  influenced by the way we learned our mother tongue?

A. We prefer to  learn by understanding the grammar rules first.

B. We tend to  attach more importance to listening and speaking.

C. We are  inclined to learn all other new languages in relation to it.

D. We may  unconsciously think it is the best way to learn languages.

23. According to  Robert Bley-Vroman, how do adults approach a new language?

A. They tend to  choose a problem-solving process.

B. They try to  be exposed to a foreign environment.

C. They follow  the way a child learns a language.

D. They start by  taking language proficiency practices.

24. According to  the passage, what is the good news for adult learners?

A. They can  achieve a higher proficiency than most children.

B. They can  speak the language as good as the native speakers.

C. They can  master a foreign language once they are motivated.

D. They can  improve proficiency by imitating the way kids learn.

25. What is the  passage mainly about?

A. The  differences between child learners and adult learners.

B. The possible  difficulties language learners may come across.

C. The common  ways people choose to learn a foreign language.

D. The  disadvantages of and hopes for an adult language learner.

Questions  26 to 30 are based on the following passage.

Some pessimistic experts feel that the  automobile is bound to fall into disuse. They see a day in the  not-too-distant future when all autos will be abandoned and allowed to rust.  Other authorities, however, think the auto is here to stay. They hold that  the car will remain a leading means of urban travel in the foreseeable  future.

The motorcar will undoubtedly change  significantly over the next 30 years. It should become smaller, safer, and  more economical, and should not be powered by the gasoline engine. The car of  the future should be far more pollution-free than present types.

Regardless of its power source, the auto  in the future will still be the main problem in urban traffic congestion. One  proposed solution to this problem is the automated highway system.

When the auto enters the highway system,  a retractable (可伸缩的) arm will drop from the auto and make  contact with a rail, which is similar to those powering subway trains  electrically. Once attached to the rail, the car will become electrically  powered from the system, and control of the vehicle will pass to a central  computer. The computer will then monitor all of the car’s movements.

The driver will use a telephone to dial  instructions about his destination into the system. The computer will  calculate the best route, and reserve space for the car all the way to the  correct exit from the highway. The driver will then be free to relax and wait  for the buzzer (蜂鸣器) that will warn him of his coming exit.  It is estimated that an automated highway will be able to handle 10,000  vehicles per hour, compared with the 1,500 to 2,000 vehicles that can be  carried by a present-day highway.

26. One  significant improvement in the future car will probably be ________.

A. its driving  system

B. its power  source

C. its  monitoring system

D. its seating  capacity

27. What is the  author’s main concern?

A. How to render  automobiles pollution-free.

B. How to make  smaller and safer automobiles.

C. How to  develop an automated subway system.

D. How to solve  the problem of traffic jams.

28. What  provides autos with electric power in an automated highway system?

A. A rail.

B. An engine.

C. A retractable  arm.

D. A computer  controller.

29. In an  automated highway system, all the driver needs to do is ________.

A. keep in the  right lane

B. wait to  arrive at his destination

C. keep in  constant touch with the computer center

D. inform the  system of his destination by phone

30. What is the  author’s attitude toward the future of autos?

A. Enthusiastic.

B. Optimistic.

C. Pessimistic.

D. Cautious.

Questions  31 to 35 are based on the following passage.

We all know that DNA has the ability to  identify individuals but, because it is inherited, there are also regions of  the DNA strand which can relate an individual to his or her family (immediate  and extended), tribal group and even an entire population. Molecular  Genealogy (宗谱学) can use this unique identification  provided by the genetic markers to link people together into family trees.

     Pedigrees(家谱) based on such genetic markers can mean  a breakthrough for family trees where information is incomplete or missing  due to adoption, illegitimacy or lack of records. There are many communities  and populations which have lost precious records due to tragic events such as  the fire in the Irish courts during Civil War in 1921 or American slaves for  whom many records were never kept in the first place.

     The main objective of the Molecular Genealogy Research Group is to build a  database containing over 100,000 DNA samples from individuals all over the  word. These individuals will have provided a pedigree chart of at least four  generations and a small blood sample. Once the database has enough samples to  represent the world genetic make-up, it will eventually help in solving may  issues regarding genealogies that could not be done by relying only on  traditional written records.

     Theoretically, any individual will someday be able to trace his or her family  origins through this database.

In the meantime, as the database is being created,  molecular genealogy can already verify possible or suspected relationships  between individuals. “For example, if two men sharing the same last name  believe that they are related, but no written record proves this  relationship, we can verify this possibility by collecting a sample of DNA  from both and looking for common markers( in this case we can look primarily  at the Y chromosome(染色体) ,” explains Ugo Perego, a member of the  BYU Molecular Genealogy research team.

31. If two men  suspected for some reason they have a common ancestor,__________.

A. we can decide  according to their family tree

B. we can find  the truth from their genetic markers

C. we can  compare the differences in their Y chromosome

D. we can look  for written records to prove their relationship

32. People in a  large area may possess the same DNA thread because__________.

A. DNA is  characteristic of a region

B. they are  beyond doubt of common ancestry

C. DNA strand  has the ability to identify individuals

D. their unique  identification can be provided via DNA

33. Which of the  following CANNOT be inferred from the passage?

A. We are a  walking, living, breathing record of our ancestors.

B. Many American  slaves did not know who their ancestors were.

C. An adopted  child generally lacks enough information to prove his identity.

D. Molecular  Genealogy can be used to prove a relationship between individuals.

34. The  Molecular Genealogy Research Group is building a database for the purpose  of__________.

A. offering  assistance in working out genealogy-related problems

B. solving many  issues without relying on traditional written records

C. providing a  pedigree chart of at least four generations in the world

D. confirming  the assumption that all individuals are of the same origin

35. The possible  research of family trees is based on the fact that__________.

A. genetics has  achieved a breakthrough

B. genetic  information contained in DNA can be revealed now

C. each  individual carries a unique record of who he is and how he is related to  others

D. we can use  DNA to prove how distant an individual is to a family, a group or a population

Questions  36 to 40 are based on the following passage.

    Stone tools, animal bones and an incised  mammoth tusk found in Russia’s frigid far north have provided what  archaeologists say is the first evidence that modern humans or Neanderthals  lived in the Arctic more than 30,000 years ago, at least 15,000 years earlier  than previously thought.

A team of Russian and Norwegian  archaeologists, describing the discovery in today’s issue of the journal  Nature, said the campsite, at Mamontovaya Kurya, on the Ura River at the  Arctic Circle, was the “oldest documented evidence for human resence at this  high latitude.” Digging in the bed of an old river channel close to the Ural  Mountains, the team uncovered 123 mammal bones, including horse, reindeer and  wolf. “The most important find,” they said, was a four-foot mammoth tusk with  grooves made by chopping with a sharp stone edge, “unequivocally the work of  humans.” The tusk was carbon-dated at about 36,600 years old. Plant remains  found among the artifacts were dated at 30,000 to 31,000 years.

Other archaeologists said the analysis  appeared to be sound. But they cautioned that it was difficult, when dealing  with riverbed deposits, to be sure that artifacts had not become jumbled out  of their true place, and thus time, in the geologic layers. They questioned  whether the discoverers could reliably conclude that the stone tools were in  fact contemporary with the bones. But in a commentary accompanying the  article, Dr. John A. J. Gowlett of the University of Liverpool in England  wrote, “Although there are questions to be answered, the artifacts illustrate  both the capacity of early humans to do the unexpected, and the value of  archaeologists’ researching in unlikely areas.”

The discoverers said they could not  determine from the few stone artifacts whether the site was occupied by  Neanderthals, hominids who by then had a long history as hunters in Europe  and western Asia, or some of the first anatomically modern humans to reach  Europe. In any case, other archaeologists said, the findings could be  significant. If these toolmakers were Neanderthals, the findings suggested  that these human relatives, who became extinct after 30,000 years ago, were  more capable and adaptable than they are generally given credit for. Living  in the Arctic climate presumably required higher levels of technology and  social organization.

If they were modern humans, then the surprise is  that they had penetrated so far north in such a short time. There has been no  firm evidence for modern humans in Europe before about 35,000 years ago. It  had generally been thought that the northernmost part of Eurasia was not  occupied by humans until the final stage of the last ice age, some 13,000 to  14,000 years ago, when the world’s climate began to moderate. Dr. Gowlett  said the new findings indicated that the Arctic region of European Russia was  extremely cold but relatively dry and ice-free more than 30,000 years ago.

36. What is the  significance of the discovery?

A. It shows that  modern humans lived in the Arctic more than 3,000 years ago.

B. It shows that  Neanderthals lived in the Arctic more than 3,000 years ago.

C. It shows the  oldest documented evidence for human presence at such high latitude.

D. It shows human  could use tools 30,000 years ago.

37. Why the team  believed that the four-foot mammoth tusk was the most important find?

A. Because it  was the longest tusk ever found.

B. Because there  were signs left by human’s tools on it.

C. Because there  were grooves on it.

D. Because there  are not any mammoth tusk all over the world.

38. When did the  Neanderthals extinct?

A. More than  30,000 years ago.

B. After 30,000  years ago.

C. Before about  35,000 years ago.

D. Some 13,000  to 14,000 years ago.

39. Who were those  toolmakers

A. Neanderthals.  

B. Modern  humans.

C.  Archaeologists.

D. Not  determined.

40. What’s the  weather like in the Arctic region of European Russia more than 30,000 years  ago?

A. Moderate  temperature, relatively dry and ice-free.

B. Extremely cold,  relatively dry and ice-free.

C. Extremely  cold, plenty of raining and ice-free.

D. Extremely  cold, relatively dry and ice frosted.

Section B (20 points)

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and then  translate the underlined segments into Chinese.

   Whether you live in  Cambodia or Scotland, Lithuania or America, you have probably heard of  dragons. The Eastern dragon, called long  in China, may seem like a completely different creature from the Western  dragon. Their behavior, their symbolism, and what they mean to society are  quite different. (41) The East seems to value dragons for their magic and  beauty and holds them in high respect. However, it is a quite different case  in the West where dragons are historically viewed as monsters.

In Chinese  culture, the dragon is a symbol of virtue. (42) Unlike Western dragons,  oriental dragons are usually seen as kind and benevolent. Dragons have long  been a symbol in Chinese folklore and art. Temples and shrines have been  built to honor them. In fact, the Chinese are sometimes referred to as  “the descendants of the dragon”.

Through the  symbol of the dragon, many Chinese see qualities which they desire and value  such as heroism, wisdom and power. The dragon is a protector. Legend has it  that the dragon controls the rain, rivers, lakes and the seas; they can  protect the innocent and give them safety. In real life, the Chinese have the  Year of the Dragon. It is said that anyone born in this year will be healthy,  wealthy and wise. (43) Historically, the dragon was associated with the  emperor of China and used as a symbol to represent imperial power. In order  to emphasize the association, emperors wore robes with a dragon design, sat  on a throne with carved dragons, and had his palace decorated with dragon of  various patterns.

Dragon  idioms are common in China. Chinese idioms are usually made up of four  Chinese characters, called chengyu.  (44) Many Westerners are familiar with the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but do not know that this movie  title is an idiom meaning “talents in hiding”.

Likewise,  the Chinese may include the character for dragon (“龙”) when  naming a child. The character appears in the names of two famous movie stars  that all Westerners know, Jackie Chan (Chenglong, meaning “becoming a dragon”)  and Bruce Lee (Li Xiaolong, implying a “small dragon”).

(45) At  special festivals, especially the Dragon Boat Festival, also called Duanwu  Festival, dragon boat races play an important part. Typically, these are  boats paddled by a team of up to 20 paddlers with a drummer and a steersman.  The boats are generally with decorative dragon heads and tails. Dragon boat  racing is also an important part of celebrations by ethnic Chinese outside  China. For example, the dragon boat races held annually at Echo Park Lake in  Los Angeles, California, are very popular.

Part III  Writing

Section A (10 points)                                 

Directions:                                                    

For this part, you will  write a letter to your friend giving your views on whether he/she needs to  pursue a graduate degree abroad. Write an email for about 100 words to  your friend to explain your opinion.

Section B (20 points)

Directions: Write  an essay of 160 to 200 words about  the title “The Two-day Weekend”. You should base your composition on the  outline given below:

1.       The  benefits of “The Two-day Weekend”.

2.       The  drawbacks of “The Two-day Weekend”.

3.       How  should we spend our weekends?